Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: An intoxicated homeless man was arrested and booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility after breaking into Hibbett Sports and stealing $850 worth of clothes.
By Jon Johnson
THATCHER – An intoxicated, homeless man was incarcerated after allegedly breaking into the Hibbett Sports store at 2145 W. U.S. Highway 70 on Wednesday, Aug. 22 and making off with roughly $850 in merchandise.
Orlando Kenton, 44, of San Carlos, was found with some of the clothes officers allege he stole from the store. Other clothing items were found strewn about outside of the store and in an area along Bauer Street. Kenton, who allegedly used a rock to break open the glass door of the store, was arrested and booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility on charges of burglary in the third degree, criminal damage, theft, and possession of stolen property.
According to a Thatcher Police report, officers were dispatched to the store at about 12:43 a.m. in reference to its glass break alarm. Upon arrival, officers noticed several pieces of clothing laying on the sidewalk in front of the store and some in the driveway. The clothes appeared to have been dropped while a perpetrator fled west from the store and then south toward Bauer Street.
The glass door of the store was shattered and inside officers located a large rock. The door was later fixed by E.A. Glass at a cost of $775. Officers followed the clothing trail and muddy footprints from the scene but initially did not find any suspects.
At about 2:15 a.m., an officer located Kenton in the 2300 block of U.S. Highway 70 with a pile of clothes with tags from Hibbett Sports still on them. Kenton and the clothing were wet, and he said he had fallen into a ditch.
Kenton initially said he awoke to someone throwing the clothes on him but later allegedly admitted to breaking the glass and stealing the items from Hibbett Sports. An officer transported Kenton back to Bauer St. and Kenton pointed out where he had been sleeping and more of the stolen clothing was found at that location. Additionally, the muddy shoe prints matched the shoes Kenton was wearing.
Kenton also admitted to drinking alcohol earlier in the night and blew a .207 percent breath/alcohol concentration on a portable breath test.
Kenton allegedly said he didn’t know why he broke into the store and stole the clothes and that he just did it. He was then taken to the jail and booked on the above listed charges.
