Many subscribe to the theory that crime doesn’t pay and, as one hapless burglary suspect found out Monday, sometimes questionable activity even hurts.

According to an incident report filed by Walthourville Police Lt. Wade Long, who responded to a report of a burglary in the Glen Brook mobile home park on Dunlevie Road in Walthourville, a man was seen leaving a mobile home carrying a flat-screen television, a laptop computer and a gaming system. An observant neighbor who saw the man putting the items into his 1997 four-door Chevrolet Lumina called 911 and gave the operator a description of the vehicle and a license plate number.

Units from the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office converged on the area within minutes, said LCSO Detective Jim Chapman, who is investigating the burglary. The 911 operator ran the license plate and found the car was registered to someone living in the 100 block of Randy Court in Hinesville. Sheriff’s office deputies and members of the Hinesville Police Department were dispatched to the residence to search for the stolen property.

Chapman said the suspect, later identified as Maurice Mikel West, 31, reportedly had hidden the items in the woods, covered them up with pine straw and returned to his home right before police arrived. Several officers stationed themselves at the front and rear doors of the home while others went to obtain a search warrant from the courthouse in Hinesville.

As authorities surrounded the residence, West allegedly tried to elude police by hiding in the attic, according to Chapman. 

“He climbed up into the attic, where he tried to squeeze himself into a corner and cover himself up with insulation. We believe that while he was doing this, he was trying to hide in between the rafters over the sheetrock covering the ceiling and he fell through the attic into the living room,” Chapman said. 

Officers watched through a window as West fell. The suspect was not hurt and after he dusted himself off, he surrendered to police before the warrant arrived.

Chapman said West reportedly walked out of the residence and told police, “You got me, man. I give up.”  He led detectives to the stolen property and was charged with one count of burglary. The items were returned to the rightful owners. Chapman attributed the quick resolution of the incident to a neighbor’s willingness to get involved after seeing suspicious activity.