A man believed to be responsible for breaking into cars in Chattanooga and North Georgia was apprehended by law enforcement officials at an East Ridge motel Thursday afternoon.
Officials said Steven Anderson, 35, was taken into custody without incident at the Motel 6 in the 2200 block of Camp Jordan Parkway at about 1:45 p.m.
ERPD Capt. Tim Mullinax said that an officer patrolling the area spotted a car that Anderson was believed to have been driving in the parking lot of the motel. Police found that Anderson was staying in a ground floor room in the back of the motel. While warrants for Anderson’s arrest were being verified, officers from both first and second shift began arriving at the motel in a show of force.
“I’m a big believer in ‘P’ is for plenty,” Capt. Mullinax said in regard to the dozen or so officers who were involved in the arrest of the suspect. “We knocked on the door and (Anderson) didn’t want to come out. We went and got a key and went inside.”
Officials said Anderson, of a 49th Street address in Chattanooga, had more than a dozen warrants on file for his arrest on charges of auto burglaries and auto thefts. None of those warrants were out of East Ridge, officials said.