VALDOSTA — A Valdosta man has been arrested in connection with a series of restaurant break-ins in the city, according to police.

At about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to El Cazador, 1600 N. Ashley St., in reference to a burglary, according to a Valdosta Police Department statement. Surveillance video showed that at 3:10 a.m., a suspect forced his way into the business and took money, according to the statement.

An officer matched the description of the suspect to a burglary that had taken place 2:35 a.m. Tuesday at Zacadoo’s Grill in the 1500 block of North Ashley Street; video from that business showed the same offender forcing his way in and taking money, police said.

Within hours, a suspect was found walking in the 400 block of North Troup Street, arrested without incident and taken to the Lowndes County Jail, according to the statement. 

Wednesday, police burglary unit detectives interviewed the suspect and connected him to a Monday burglary at Betty’s Diner in the 2100 block of North Ashley Street, police said. In this incident, entry was forced and money was taken, the statement said.

Ronnie Campbell, 42, of Valdosta is in jail, charged with three counts of burglary – felony, the police statement said.

“Our patrol officers did an outstanding job of linking the two burglaries together and getting information out quickly to the rest of the department, which resulted in an arrest. This was a great team effort by members of our department to get this offender off the streets,” Valdosta Police Chief Leslie Manahan said.

Authorities ask anyone with information on this case, call the Valdosta Police Department Detective Bureau, (229) 293-3145.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.