On Sunday evening East Ridge police arrested a man who they say broke into two houses in the John Ross Road area.
Richard Wade West, 41, of a Holtzclaw Road address, was charged with two counts of aggravated burglary and one count of assault. He is in the Hamilton County Jail on a $10,000 bond and is due to appear in East Ridge Municipal Court on Oct. 3.
According to an affidavit of arrest, police were called to 1734 John Ross Road at about 6 p.m. on a reported burglary in progress. The caller told dispatchers that a slim, white man in a white tank top and khaki cargo shorts broke into her basement and took off when confronted. The caller said that a friend of hers had chased the man toward Missionaire Avenue when he lost sight of the man.
Officers spoke with the female victim who said that she and her friend were in the house when they heard a loud bang and “the house shook.” The victim’s male friend went outside to investigate the noise and encountered West coming from the back side of the house through a fence. The man confronted West who told him he was “looking for Lori’s house.”
Richard Wade West
According to the report, the suspect was feeling around in his pockets while the victim’s friend was talking to him. The friend told police that West had a large screwdriver in his pocket and thought he might use it as a weapon. Before the friend could apprehend West, the suspect took off south down John Ross.
The report states that police searched the area but were not able to immediately locate West. As police were investigating the break-in, a neighbor called the victim and said that a white male fitting the description of the suspect was walking through her yard in the 1900 block of Bowen Road. Police found the suspect riding a bike several blocks down Bowen Road,
West was brought back to the John Ross Road house that he allegedly broke into and was identified by the victim and her friend as the man who had entered the home.
According to the report, as police were searching for West, officers received another call of a break-in in the 3400 block of Land Street. After West was apprehended, he was taken to this location where he was once again identified as the man who had broken into this house.
The victim on Land Street told police that West came to her residence looking for “Lori.” The victim told West that “Lori” lived upstairs. West went to find “Lori,” who he was acquainted with through a mutual friend. When the victim went to lock her back door she encountered West inside her house. According to the report, West shoved the woman down to the floor and ran away.
_ A man wanted by Chattanooga police on Attempted First Degree Murder charges was taken into custody at an East Ridge Motel last week.
Jonathan Smith
According to a police report, Jonathan Smith, 35, of an Oakland Avenue address, was found staying in a room at the Motel 6 on Camp Jordan Parkway. CPD investigators and the U.S. Marshall Service sought the aid of ERPD in obtaining a search warrant for Smith’s room.
The report states that when investigators arrested Smith they found a black nylon hoster and several rounds of live ammunition in the garbage can of the room. According to the report, Smith is a convicted felon and is prohibited from possessing live ammunition.
The search warrant was obtained and CPD crime technicians came and searched the room for a firearm and took the other items into their custody. The report states that room was re-secured and personal property of Smith’s was left for family to retrieve. No further action was required by ERPD, the report states.
Police believe that Smith is responsible for shooting his cousin on August 16 after an argument at an Oakland Avenue address.
Smith is being held in the Hamilton County Jail on a $450,000 bond.
