VALDOSTA — A Valdosta man was arrested early Sunday morning after reportedly leading police on a foot chase, attempting to hit a police officer, and being subdued by pepper spray.
At approximately 5 a.m. Sunday, a resident in the 600 block of Cherokee Avenue notified authorities that he had seen a black male in a storage building on his property, noted Valdosta Police Department Cmdr. Brian Childress.
Officer Andrew Barbour with the Valdosta Police Department responded to the residence and made contact with the victim, who was able to provide a description of the individual, Childress said.
While investigating the area, Childress noted that Barbour spotted an individual on a bicycle who fit the description of the suspect and stopped him.
Childress said that the suspect fled the scene, and Barbour chased him. While attempting to restrain the suspect, Childress said that the suspect tried to strike Barbour with his fist.
Barbour reportedly used pepper spray to subdue the suspect, who was, a short time later, taken into custody by Barbour and other responding officers from the Valdosta Police Department. Because the suspect had a backpack with him, Childress noted that police recovered items, including a television, reportedly taken from Cherokee Avenue residence.
Ricky Lane, 40, has been charged with not having a headlight on his bicycle, burglary to a residence, and obstruction of an officer, Childress said. Police have not ruled out charging him with other crimes at this time.
“We have recovered other items from the suspect and are looking into the possibility of them having been taken during other burglaries reported in the area,” Childress said.
Even though the suspect — in this particular case — broke into a storage building and not the actual residence, Childress said that it still qualifies as an actual burglary, which is a felony. He said that the law defines burglary as simply the unlawful entry into any building.
“I am extremely proud of the citizen who called us to report the suspicious activity, and I am very, very proud of Officer (Andrew) Barbour for the way he handled this case,” Childress added. “It is a good example of a citizen/police team effort.”
“We caught another one,” Childress said.
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