Would-be burglar leaves wallet with IDs, shoe at crime scene, police say

DULUTH, Ga. - A would-be burglar is under arrest after police say he left his wallet with his ID in it at the crime scene.

Officials with the Duluth Police Department say they received a burglary call on Friday, June 9 at the Montrose Apartments on the 3700 block of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.

When officers got to the scene, the suspect had already fled. Police say what they found in a quick search led them straight to the person allegedly responsible.

While looking around the building, officers found a shoe and a wallet next to the broken window of a vacant apartment.

Body camera footage caught the moment the officers opened the wallet to find a driver's license, school ID inside, and $30.

"Looky there," the officer says while chuckling. "Oh we've got two IDs!"

The other officer on the recording said he recognized the person on the license because he passed them earlier at the entrance to the apartment complex. 

Using the IDs, the officers were able to identify the suspect as Samuel Medeiros-Santos and found his address. When they arrived at his home, they found Medeiros-Santos with his arm cut up and bloody.

When asked about the injuries, police say he told them that "he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and he was cut up from crawling threw the window of the apartment from which he broke into". 

(Duluth Police Department)

Medeiros-Santos now faces a charge of second-degree criminal damage to property. 

"It is a reminder that even in the age of technology, old-fashioned police work still plays a vital role in solving crimes," the Duluth Police Department said.