Local man arrested for vehicle prowls

RITZVILLE – A local man is facing charges connected with vehicle prowling and other crimes after being arrested Monday, Dec. 5

Caleb Broff, 31, was arrested in the early morning hours, records show.

Police Chief Dave McCormick said Broff had been considered "a person of interest" in a rash of vehicle prowling incidents and gasoline thefts over the past year.

He was observed numerous times late at night riding a bicycle that carried a gas can, the chief said.

After midnight Dec. 5, Carlson saw Broff exiting the area between Landcraft Repair and the vehicle impound lot of B & B Towing on East Main Street, the chief said. When Broff saw Carlson's patrol car, he ran.

Carlson rolled down his window, shouted for Broff to stop, then engaged his patrol lights.

"At a minimum, Matt felt he had probable cause to detain Broff for criminal trespassing on the Landcraft property," McCormick said. "Broff ran east for about two blocks.

"Matt left his patrol car, chased Broff on foot, and apprehended him."

Subsequent investigation showed that five vehicles on the south side of the impound lot - an area adjacent to the Landcraft building - had been disturbed, he said. Gas caps on the vehicles were off, and a siphon hose dangling from one of the gas tanks emptied into a five-gallon gas can.

The hood on another vehicle was up, the chief said. The battery had been lifted out and placed on the ground nearby.

Police charged Broff with several crimes including felony second-degree burglar and three misdemeanors -second-degree criminal trespass, third-degree theft and vehicle prowling.

"The suspect was fairly cooperative and admitted to these crimes," McCormick said.

Although Broff denied cutting a hole in the lot's chain-link fence, McCormick noted, "To be aware that the hole was there, you had to be checking for a way to get in."

After Broff was booked locally, corrections officers transported him to the Franklin County jail.