Man arrested in Madison following several reports of car, business break-ins

MADISON, Ala. ( WHNT ) — The Madison Police Department (MPD) arrested a 33-year-old man following reports that cars and businesses in the Palmer Road area were broken into.

Joey Bright, 33, is facing several charges, including third-degree burglary and fourth-degree theft of property and five counts of unlawful breaking and entering into vehicles.

MPD held a news conference on Thursday to discuss details of the break-ins and Bright’s arrest.

Captain Terrell Cook, MPD’s Investigations Division Commander, said that early during the week of September 29, the department began receiving reports that cars and some local businesses were broken into in the Palmer Road area.

A witness provided a vehicle description to police, and MPD investigators were able to match the vehicle description to a known domestic violence offender.

On Monday, officers searched the person’s home and police say they recovered a “large amount” of stolen property including tools, golf clubs, firearms and other personal effects.

Officers then took the suspect, later identified as Bright, into custody. Cook said that crimes connected to Bright are still being reported, and more charges are likely.

The department says it has been able to return a lot of the stolen property so far. Some of the things they recovered matched descriptions of items stolen from rental storage units in surrounding jurisdictions, and they are also working to return those items to owners.

MPD said many of the cars involved in these break-ins were unlocked, so they took this opportunity to remind people to be vigilant and not keep valuable items in their unlocked cars.

“We would like to remind everyone not to leave firearms in their vehicle or other valuables unsecured,” Cook said. “Remember to lock your vehicles whenever you leave for the day, or for the evening, or whenever you walk away from your vehicle.

Cook added that this is still an active investigation, and they are still working to identify additional suspects.

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