Arab Police Arrest Two
During Apollo Road Burglary

Arab Police Corporal Mitch Stone leads Jerry Wayne Breedlove into the Arab PD jail area Thursday afternoon.  Breedlove and a female companion were arrested after allegedly breaking into an Apollo Road home.                         Arab Today photo by Dwight Hayes

August 27, 2009 - Dwight Hayes
Burglarizing a home is not the smartest thing to do in the first place, but doing it in broad daylight, with an observant neighbor watching, and the Arab Police Department SWAT Team training nearby ranks pretty high on the list of things not to do as two burglary suspects found out Thursday afternoon.

Arab Police were alerted to a possible burglary in progress at an Apollo Road home by a neighbor around 2:20 pm Thursday.  The first officers on the scene could hear the suspects inside the home, and after the suspects failed to respond to orders to come out of the house, the SWAT team was called in for backup. Within minutes, eleven officers had surrounded the house and began preparations to gain entry through the dead bolted doors.  According to APD Sergeant Seth Sullivan, a male suspect opened the front door and came out of the residence as the SWAT team was staging.  Sullivan said the SWAT team then entered the house and found a female suspect hiding behind a door in a back bedroom.

Jerry Wayne Breedlove and Patty Elaine Westbrooks were taken into custody around 2:40 pm by Sullivan and Corporal Mitch Stone.  They allegedly entered the home through a rear window. Both will be charged with Burglary 3rd according to Sullivan.  Westbrooks reportedly told officers that she knew the home owner. Breedlove has outstanding warrants in Morgan and Etowah counties and Arab held outstanding arrest warrants on Westbrooks. 

The homeowner was out of state at the time of the burglary.  Sullivan said he was able to contact the owner by cell phone.  The owner told Sullivan and Lieutenant Butch Higgins to enter the residence even if it meant breaking down the door.  Sullivan said he was glad the SWAT team was available, and credited them with bringing a quick end to the situation.  He also praised the attentiveness and quick action of the neighbor.