A man caught "rattling doors" on Dartmouth Street early Tuesday morning is charged with robbing a North Chattanooga home last week.
Ricky L. Davis, 24, was charged in the robbery at 304 Tremont St. after he was caught Tuesday on Dartmouth Street, Chattanooga Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Jerri Weary said.
Sgt. Weary said the "methods of operation" involved in several other recent crimes in North Chattanooga were "pretty much the same" as those in the Tremont robbery.
She said questions on the number and types of recent crimes committed in the area would have to be directed to the investigator on the cases. That investigator, Tim Tomisek, was unavailable Tuesday because he had worked a long shift "dealing with Mr. Davis," Sgt. Weary said.
Police obtained a search warrant for Mr. Davis' Fifth Avenue home and found several items that had been stolen in the Tremont Street break-in, police said.
Mr. Davis was charged with aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, theft over $1,000 and unlawful possession of a firearm, police said. He was being held Tuesday in the Hamilton County Jail on a $400,000 bond, said Janice Atkinson, a Hamilton County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.
Mr. Davis recently was released from prison after serving time on a conviction for crimes in North Chattanooga, Sgt. Weary said. Details of those crimes, his conviction and time served were not available late Tuesday.
Jennifer Monroe, who has several friends and a boyfriend who live on Tremont Street, said she found out about Mr. Davis' arrest as many other area residents did - through e-mail exchanges and Facebook messages from members of the North Shore Neighborhood Association.
"That's the one thing I've noticed, is that (North Chattanooga residents) seem to band together," Ms. Monroe said.
A voice message left Tuesday night with Neeld Messler, the association's president, was not returned.
Ms. Monroe said she knows several area residents who have armed themselves in case of a robbery attempt.
"A number of our friends have commented that they keep loaded weapons in their house," she said. "It makes you feel more comfortable having that."
Nina Shebest and Genevieve Chazen, who were walking their dogs along Tremont Street on Tuesday evening, said they live near Tremont but aren't intimidated by recent crimes because they've lived in cities larger than Chattanooga.
"I'm not really scared," Ms. Shebest said. "I'm from Miami, so a couple of break-ins don't really matter."
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