A man has been arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, on suspicion of four burglaries last month west of Telluride in Placerville and Sawpit, Colorado.
Michael Grand, 30, was arrested May 29 in Nashville by undercover police officers who were staking out the home of a woman who was believed to be his girlfriend, according to San Miguel County Sheriff Bill Masters.
Grand is suspected in two burglaries at the Sawpit Mercantile and M&M Mercantile in Placerville that occurred between 1:35 and 1:55 a.m. May 20.
The burglaries led San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office to alert the public to be on the lookout for the suspect, who was described as a stocky white man about 6 feet tall in his mid- to late 30s with dark hair and a beard.
Suspect wanted in connection with four burglaries down valley from Telluride was arrested in Nashville, TN this morning by undercover police officers who were staking out his alleged girlfriends home based on information provided by Sheriff’s Investigators. (1 of 4) pic.twitter.com/EfZaL8FRsQ
— San Miguel Sheriff (@SheriffAlert) May 29, 2019
The description of the suspect was obtained by owners of the M&M Mercantile in Placerville, who live above the store, Master’s said.
The couple heard noise and went downstairs, when they encountered the suspect on May 20, he said.
The husband fired several shots at the fleeing vehicle, and at least one shot was believed to have hit the vehicle based on remnants left at the scene, Masters said.
“You should never do that, and the suspect wasn’t hit,” Masters said of the gunfire.
Based on the remnants from the truck left in the parking lot, the suspect was believed to be driving a 2010 to 2015 white crew cab Dodge pickup truck.
The May 20 burglaries were the second in the past month at Sawpit Mercantile and the M&M. Deputies are investigating a burglary at Sawpit Mercantile believed to have occurred between 11 p.m. and midnight on May 8. The M&M also suffered a burglary after May 8 Sawpit incident and before the May 20 incident when the owners had their run-in with the suspect, Masters said.
According to the San Miguel Sheriff’s Office, Grand will be advised of multiple criminal charges against him in Nashville and San Miguel County.
The Sheriff is offering a $500 reward for info leading to the arrest of a suspect in several recent Down Valley business burglaries. See photos attached of the person of interest. He is a white male, in his 30's, about 6ft, unshaven (more...) pic.twitter.com/noSkqX8nD4
— San Miguel Sheriff (@SheriffAlert) May 21, 2019
Masters said surveillance photos of the suspect placed on the San Miguel Sheriff’s website led to tips about where the suspect might have been employed in Telluride.
A bar where the suspect was believed to have worked reported the man failed to show up for work and that he had mentioned he wanted to visit his girlfriend in Hays, Kansas.
Masters said the suspect appeared to have abandoned the pickup in Hays. However, Hays police believe they stopped the suspect with a woman in another car and had addresses for both parties. The woman’s address was in Nashville.
Masters said Nashville police staked out the woman’s address, and Nashville officers arrested Grand when he stepped out of the woman’s home to smoke a cigarette.
Masters said the man is wanted in connection with numerous burglaries in Nashville, and he is expected to be tried for those burglaries and if convicted serve his sentence before he is extradited to San Miguel County.
Masters said it could be years before the man is extradited.
“I don’t really get it,” Masters said. “He was not getting much out of either of those two places. He did more damage than anything. It’s not like they’re high-volume stores.”
parmijo@the-journal.com