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Police: St. Pete Detective Follows Burglar's Trail To Jail

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 15, 2008

Updated: 05/15/2008 01:21 pm

ST. PETERSBURG - A savvy detective realized a string of church burglaries had come to a halt, so he asked himself what might have taken the thief off the streets.

His answer: Maybe the culprit had been arrested in another case and was at the Pinellas County Jail.

Burglary Detective Doug Gaddis started reviewing recent arrests and spotted the jail mug of Thomas Brown, 30, who looked a lot like the burglar captured on surveillance video, said St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Proffitt.

Then Gaddis took note of a distinctive tattoo that was listed in Brown's data-entry information at the jail, Proffitt said. Brown has a distinctive "tribal man" tattoo on the back of his head that was seen on the surveillance video, Proffitt said.

Once investigators got Brown's fingerprints, they were able to match them with prints left at two of the break-ins, Proffitt said.

Brown was charged Wednesday with 12 burglaries, and additional charges may be filed, she said. Among the targets were churches and restaurants.

A fresh video of the burglar and his crowbar, which police say was spotted in use in a burglary at Dooly's Pub, 2329 28 St. N., was released by St. Petersburg police today.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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