Alleged burglar arrested after chase

A 25-year-old South Lake Tahoe man was arrested while wearing a stolen $5,000 watch Monday. He reportedly led police on a chase after they discovered stolen property at his apartment.

Deonte Brown was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property, possession of narcotics and resisting arrest after police reportedly found a loot of stolen goods — including valuable watches, jewelry, computers, flat-screen TVs and collector coins, the key to the stolen Lexus and a large amount of heroin — connected to a recent string of residential burglaries.

South Lake Tahoe police officers and El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies responded to an apartment complex on the 4000 block of Manzanita Avenue to investigate a report of a possible stolen vehicle in the parking lot. Officers discovered the vehicle, a 2002 Lexus convertible, under a cover. According to police, the vehicle had been stolen two weeks ago during a residential burglary in Zephyr Cove, Nev.

Police identified Deonte Brown, a resident of the complex, as the suspect. Brown was on felony probation in El Dorado County for drug convictions and resisting law enforcement officers. Due to his probation, he was subject to search and seizure provisions, so officers searched his apartment and found stolen property related to a string of recent residential burglaries in Nevada and California.

A few hours after the search, SLTPD officer Barry Rider saw Brown driving a vehicle in the Manzanita Avenue neighborhood and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. Brown reportedly fled from the car and led officers on a foot pursuit across the state line and into Nevada, where officers caught him behind Harveys. Brown was wearing a watched valued at about $5,000 when he was arrested. The watch was also identified as stolen property taken during another residential burglary in Zephyr Cove, police said.

Brown was booked into Douglas County jail on charges including possession of stolen property, possession of narcotics and resisting arrest. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact detective Nick Carlquist of SLTPD at 530-542-6100 and refer to case No. 1209-0250.