An armed burglar was caught in the act on Thursday, March 6, by Bradley County deputies. Responding to a call from a concerned citizen, Dep. S. McCullough and Dep. M. Pickett entered a residence at 441 Van Davis Rd. and apprehended Daniel Cronan in the act of attempting to remove items from the home.

This was the second beak-in at the residence in as many days. On Wednesday, March 5, Dep. M. Pickett responded to an aggravated burglary call at the Van Davis Rd. residence. According to reports, at some point during the day, two unidentified suspects had gained entry to the home through the back door and removed two electric guitars, an amplifier, three swords, a Game Cube system and games, jewelry, $700 in cash and various other items.

The following day (March 6), one of the burglars returned to the scene of the crime. A vigilant neighbor noticed activity at the residence and called 911. Deputies McCullough and Pickett responded immediately and caught Cronan in the act. Cronan was in possession of a .38 special revolver and a small amount of methamphetamine at the time, but when deputies arrived at the scene he attempted to hide the drugs and firearm under a mattress.

A subsequent investigation revealed that an accomplice identified as Teresa Jenkins had entered the residence with Cronan the day before and participated in that burglary. Some of the stolen items had been traded for narcotics, but have all since been recovered and returned to the owners.

Both Cronan and Jenkins are in custody at the Bradley County Justice Center. They are charged with Aggravated Burglary and Theft over $1,000 for the March 5 break-in. Additional charges against Cronan include Possession of Burglary Tools, Possession of Schedule II Narcotics, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, a new law that went into effect on January 1 of this year. Under the new law, Cronan faces a possible mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison.

Assisting in the investigation were Det. J. Smith, Det. J. Lea and Det. M. Hughes.