Police nab unwelcome housesitter

    Andrews – A homeless man accused of auto theft in the past was arrested last week after he allegedly burglarized a home and stole a sport utility vehicle from the library’s rear parking lot.
    The incident report associated with the arrest of 28-year-old Richard Dylan Mathews reads like a fairy tale. However, the alleged antagonist in this story does not escape without consequences.
    Police allege Mathews burglarized a home on Airport Road between Sept. 7-9, when the homeowner was out of town. When the homeowner returned that Monday, he found a pair of shoes on the front steps that did not belong to him. The man’s bike, which he remembered leaving inside the house, was found outside at the end of the driveway lying next to plants.
    The homeowner told police all his patio furniture had been rearranged, and someone had used the gas grill. The uninvited guest had also taken a laptop and PlayStation 4 gaming console out of the house.
    A woman later told police that earlier in the day she saw a man near the home who claimed to be drying himself after falling into the creek. The physical description she gave sheriff’s officers matched Mathews, who had already been arrested by town police for allegedly stealing a Chevrolet Suburban from Andrews Public Library on Main Street.
    Andrews police found Mathews driving the SUV on the four-lane highway around 2:20 p.m., after a tipster reported seeing the stolen vehicle. Police say the laptop taken during the home burglary was found inside the vehicle Mathews possessed at the time of his arrest.
    “He insisted the vehicle was his, but obviously it wasn’t,” said Officer Nick Roberson, who initiated the traffic stop.
    When police later spoke with Mathews about the home burglary, he reportedly said, “I don’t want to talk to you.” When police told Mathews there was enough probable cause to hit him with additional felony charges, he allegedly asked, “How can you pin that on me?”
    Police then told him stolen property was found in the vehicle he possessed without mentioning the specific item, to which Mathews replied, “Like what, the laptop?” Police have not yet recovered the gaming console.
    Police say the owner of the SUV had left the keys in the vehicle, allowing an easy theft. The burglar entered the house on Airport Road by kicking the bottom of the bay doors, causing them to open.
    Mathews is charged with breaking and entering, two separate larceny offenses and possession of a stolen vehicle. He was previously arrested last month after police found him in possession of a stolen Coachmen motorhome.