Cole County resident wakes up, interrupts burglar

A Cole County resident interrupted a burglary at a home southwest of Jefferson City on Wednesday morning, according to the sheriff’s office.

The Cole County Sheriff’s Department was sent to a home on White Oak Road a little before 10 a.m. Wednesday for a call of a burglary in progress. A person living there told dispatchers he woke up to the sound of his dog barking and found a man in his house, according to a probable cause statement.

The burglar ran from the house but deputies found a man matching his description on nearby Heritage Highway on Wednesday evening. Deputies arrested David K. L. Patton, 29, on suspicion of first-degree burglary, and he confessed to breaking into the house, the statement said.

Investigators found electronics and other items wrapped in bedding in two different rooms and scattered around upstairs rooms, where the resident said he saw the burglar, according to the probable cause statement.

Patton left his bicycle at the crime scene and investigators said witnesses had seen him riding the bike in the area around the time of the burglary.

Prosecutors charged Patton on Thursday with first-degree burglary and attempted stealing. He was in the Cole County Jail on Friday on a $10,000 bond. No lawyer was listed in his case in online court records.

Sign up for email news alerts by clicking here

Copyright 2019 KMIZ