Man accused of using dog door in theft

WAYNESBORO, TENN. - A local man remains in jail after being accused of crawling through a dog door and stealing jewelry from a neighbor.

Tim Holt, 22, 931 Wayne County 99, Waynesboro, is charged with aggravated burglary and theft, said Waynesboro Police Chief Keith Reeves.

He is accused of breaking into another residence on Wayne County 99 last week.

"We got information that he had bragged to some people about how he broke into the house when the woman was gone," Reeves said. "He told his friends that he crawled through the doggie door and took the jewelry."

Part of the jewelry was sold to Cash for Gold and a portion of it was hidden. Reeves contacted Cash for Gold and was e-mailed a photo of the jewelry and verified that the jewelry had been sold by Holt.

"We took the photo to the victim and she immediately identified it as her jewelry," Reeves said.

He said Cash for Gold returned the jewelry to the victim.

Reeves said Holt was taken into custody for questioning.

"He denied having anything to do with the robbery, but he told us that he understood some of the jewelry had been hidden and even told us where it was located," Reeves said.

The chief said the hidden jewelry was recovered and returned to the owner.

Reeves said the doggie door at the residence is expandable.

"There was no signs of forced entry," Reeves said. "The owner has very small dogs, but the doggie door was expanded to a large size."

Holt is being held in the Wayne County Jail on bail of $52,500

Tom Smith can be reached at 740-5757 or tom.smith@TimesDaily.com.