PHOENIX - Authorities said Friday that they have arrested a man believed to be the elusive "Rock Burglar" who broke into nearly 400 houses in affluent Phoenix suburbs over the last 17 years.
Robert James Neese, 58, was arrested Friday at a south Phoenix restaurant after DNA evidence connected him to some of the burglaries, police said.
Authorities say the Rock Burglar's victims included former Vice President Dan Quayle and former Arizona Diamondbacks players Steve Finley and Mark Grace.
"I actually worried that someday I'd wind up retiring without this guy going to jail," said Paradise Valley police Cmdr. Alan Laitsch, who first noticed the trend in the break-ins dating back to 1993.
Investigators say the Rock Burglar used rocks to break into homes through master bedroom or bathroom windows while the owners were away and never left the master suite. Most people keep their expensive jewelry in the bedroom and don't use motion-activated alarms there to avoid tripping the alarms themselves.
People are also reading…
Around 2005, the burglar changed locations from Paradise Valley and Scottsdale and concentrated on Fountain Hills, authorities said.
In all, the Rock Burglar made off with $10 million in jewelry, cash and other loot over the years, investigators said.
