Actions

Police identify suspect in Colonial Heights apartment break-in

Posted at 6:04 PM, Mar 22, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-22 18:06:35-04

COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. -- Colonial Heights Police have named the suspect, wanted for a Colonial Heights break-in on March 10.

Investigators tell CBS 6 Robert Alan Branch, 40, is the man who was recently captured on surveillance video, ransacking a woman's apartment, stealing electronics and toilet paper.

suspectgrabbingtv2

Police said Branch even stole the security camera, but all the video had already been uploaded to the cloud.

Tuesday Police executed a search warrant at suspects home, but he was not at the residence. Branch is still not in police custody.

If you have any information on Branch contact Colonial Heights Police at 804-520-9311 or Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.

"It's scary" says the woman who has lived there for three years

Sade Smith said she returned home from vacation in early March and returned home to a ransacked house with three televisions missing along with most of their electronics.

"It's scary" said Smith who for the past three years has lived at the apartment complex with her three-year-old son and considered the neighborhood quiet and safe.

Surveillance video captured the suspect in her son's bedroom, trying to pull the flat screen television off the wall.

suspectgrabbingtv

While the thief grabbed the two cameras they couldn't touch the cloud.

Smith quickly went online and saw a man she had never seen inside her son's bedroom at 8:14pm March 10. She said police are still trying to figure out how the man got inside the apartment but the back door was open when Smith arrived home a few days later.

Besides the electronics, the thief apparently grabbed toilet paper, paper plates and paper towels that Smith had in her kitchen.

CBS6-News-at-4pm-and-Jennifer-Hudson-480x360.jpg

Entertainment

Watch 'The Jennifer Hudson Show' weekdays at 3 p.m. on CBS 6!

📱 Download CBS 6 News App
The app features breaking news alerts, live video, weather radar, traffic incidents, closings and delays and more.