Early Monday morning, a fresh blanket of snow covered the town of Dolores when an alarm was triggered at the Traditional Charm Antique Mall at 315 Central Ave.
With Dolores residents all snug in their beds, an alarm sounded Monday at 4:19 a.m., according to Lt. Ted Meador with the Montezuma County Sheriffs Department.
Deputies arrived on scene to find that someone had made a forced entry into the antique mall. Upon closer inspection, explained Meador, a clue made a profound impression upon the deputies. Fresh footprints in the snow leading away from the scene of the crime were discovered.
As deputies followed the fresh prints in the snow, they soon found another clue.
They also located jewelry, strewn about alongside the footprints, Meador said.
Apparently, the person responsible for the break-in had loaded up jewelry from the store and either dropped it along the way or had a hole in their bag.
Deputies simply followed the fresh tracks and jewelry, complete with price tags from the store, to the front door of an apartment complex just blocks away off of South 5th Street.
Once outside the door, Meador said, the deputies could not get anyone to open the door.
So the area was secured as we went to go get a search warrant, he said.
Deputies remained on scene until a search warrant was obtained and an arrest could be made.
Inside, deputies recovered most of the stolen goods.
Reports also indicated the suspect stopped in front of a security camera near the Hollywood Bar and he was caught on tape.
