A man who is a suspect in a string of burglaries at convenience stores throughout East Tennessee, including three in northern Bradley County, has been arrested by Bradley County Sheriff's Office detectives, according to a BCSO news release.
Deshawn Mitchell Rudd was taken into custody by Knox County investigators during a Wednesday traffic stop. He was booked into the Bradley County Jail Wednesday after a six-month investigation, during which authorities were led to the inside of his vehicle, where evidence was found linking him to the burglaries.
One of the burglaries was reported from a convenience store on Hiwassee Street in Charleston, Tenn. on July 22, 2019, when a suspect wearing a white mask forcefully entered by breaking the glass door before hundreds of dollars in tobacco products were stolen from the store.
Deshawn Mitchell Rudd / Bradley County Sheriff's Office photoTwo additional burglaries happened on Oct. 13, 2019 at stores on Lauderdale Memorial Highway and Hiwassee Street, where the suspect was seen wearing the same mask from the July 2019 burglary and again reportedly taking tobacco products from each store.
Rudd is also the suspect in another convenience store burglary that occurred on December 22, 2019, and in other Tennessee counties , the release states. He has been charged with three counts of burglary, three counts of theft over $2,500 and three counts of vandalism over $1,000, while numerous other charges are pending in the other counties.