Police: 14 auto burglaries solved with one arrest

It took a joint operation between the Chattanooga Police Department's Neighborhood Policing and Property Crime to catch Daniel Morgan, who would allegedly check neighborhoods in Hixson, Stuart Heights and North Shore for unlocked cars and steal from them.
It took a joint operation between the Chattanooga Police Department's Neighborhood Policing and Property Crime to catch Daniel Morgan, who would allegedly check neighborhoods in Hixson, Stuart Heights and North Shore for unlocked cars and steal from them.

It took a joint operation between the Chattanooga Police Department's Neighborhood Policing and Property Crime to catch Daniel Morgan, who would allegedly check neighborhoods in Hixson, Stuart Heights and North Shore for unlocked cars and steal from them.

Last week, police began investigating ten reports of auto burglaries that happened in a 24-hour period. Enforcement officials searched for a stolen license plate and a traffic camera caught the tag on a Honda.

On Thursday, officer Jarrod Justice saw the vehicle, but when he turned to verify the tag, the car sped away. The car, a stolen vehicle, soon crashed on the 700 block of Dallas Road, at which point Daniel Morgan, the driver, and Holly Smith, the passenger, fled on foot. Police quickly apprehended the suspects.

Morgan, who refused to talk to police, was arrested for theft over 10,000, evading arrest and drug charges. Officials recovered property from the vehicle as well as 101 E. 20th St Chatt Inn, clearing the auto-burglaries. The evidence added 14 counts of auto burglary and 14 counts of theft to Morgan's stacked résumé. Holly Smith was charged with leaving the scene.

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