Patrick Laforest

A Murfreesboro man is facing multiple charges after a neighbor reportedly caught him Thursday burglarizing a nearby house on Bridle Drive.

Patrick S. Laforest, 22, has been charged with aggravated burglary, theft, vandalism and possession of burglary tools in connection with the incident, according to a Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office press release.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, a woman called at about 11 a.m. to report she saw a man breaking out a window at a home nearby, Cpl. David Foote reported.

Deputies responded within minutes to the woman’s home, where they saw the man walking out of the nearby house.

When Foote and Deputy Mark Barnes approached Laforest, they asked him what he was doing, to which he responded, “trying to steal.”

Foote searched Laforest and recovered a jewelry box containing rings and a necklace and loose jewelry including rings, earrings and another necklace.

Sgt. Mike George credited the neighbor for calling the Sheriff’s Office immediately when she saw a man breaking into the home.

“Thanks to a very concerned and observant neighbor,” George said. “She was paying attention. That’s the key. It’s people like that who help us to do our jobs.”

Laforest remains in custody at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center, where he is being held on a $39,000 bond, which was tripled because he was already out on bond for unrelated charges at the time of his arrest.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 15 in General Sessions Court.