HENDERSONVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
A man working for a trash collection service is accused of taking more than just trash from a Hendersonville home.
Police said thousands of dollars in items were stolen from the home, including electronics, jewelry and medication, Monday morning from a home on Castleview Drive.
The resident of the home caught the burglar in the act, but the suspect was able to escape.
"In this case, the person came home, just so happens, while he was in the home, and caught him right in the act," said Hendersonville Police Det. Neal Harris.
Police later arrested Keith Clements, 31, of Nashville, who was working for a trash collection service.
"He saw an opportunity and didn't realize he'd be caught in the act," Harris said.
Clements is charged with aggravated burglary, theft over $1,000, vandalism, evading arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He was one of five men arrested last year by Rutherford County authorities in connection with a string of burglaries in Middle Tennessee.
Authorities there say the suspects drove through neighborhoods, knocking on doors. If no one answered, they broke in. Police later recovered $75,000 worth of stolen property from those break-ins.
In December 2012, Clements received a six-year suspended sentence, according to the Rutherford County clerk's office, which allowed him to be released from jail.
Clements was working for Allied Waste through a temp service - a job that gave him access to the side and back yards of unsuspecting homeowners.
Allied's general manager referred any questions about background checks to that temp service, which has not yet returned our calls.
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Keith Clements
