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Mesa man helps police bust suspected burglar based on colorful underwear

Posted at 9:12 PM, Jun 29, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-30 00:12:11-04

A Mesa homeowner said he helped police catch a burglar based on the suspect's colorful underwear.

Donnie Sigrist said he saw a guy rifling through his pickup truck on home surveillance camera early Sunday morning.  

"I went into my office and I was just watching Internet YouTube videos.  I turn to my right and I notice someone's in my truck, again," said Sigrist.

It was the second time in a month that somebody had tried breaking into Sigrist's truck. This time, he wasn't about to let the person get away with it.

"I went into my wife where she was still sleeping. Grabbed her foot and said call 911," said Sigrist.

Meantime, Sigrist grabbed his two dogs and ran outside. He caught the guy with the truck door open, holding sunglasses, a tire pressure tester and an I.D. case with a couple weapons permits.

The suspect dumped the items from Sigrist's truck and ran with Sigrist and his dogs chasing behind. When the suspect jumped a wall at the back of the neighborhood, Sigrist noticed that the guy was wearing bright blue underwear.

"He was wearing all black and blue underwear. It just stood out when he was going over the fence," said Sigrist.  

When Mesa police officers arrived minutes later, they told Sigrist they had someone arrested just a few blocks down. Officers asked Sigrist to ride over to the arrest location to identify the suspect.

"I said 'turn him around.' I saw his bright blue underwear and I said 100% that was him," said Sigrist.

Mesa police arrested a 17-year-old boy for burglary and trespassing.