FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Fairhope Police have caught a man they say was involved in a string of Eastern Shore burglaries. Shawn Thomas Baird, 30, was arrested Thursday for allegedly breaking into a home on Lari-Bel Lane, south of Fairhope.

FPD spokesman Sgt. Craig Sawyer said investigators believe Baird is the man a resident found inside his home just after noon July 11. The suspect fled in a green four-wheel-drive, all-terrain vehicle, according to police.

Officers followed the ATV’s tire tracks through grass and dirt to the Fish River Bridge on U.S. Highway 98, but lost the trail on paved streets near the bridge. After interviewing local residents, investigators developed information on a possible suspect known to ride a green ATV in that area.

Baird was taken into custody at a home in Magnolia Springs, and charged with burglary in the first degree for entering an occupied dwelling with intent to commit a theft, according to Sawyer.

He said when Baird was arrested, officers recovered several items of stolen property, including an air compressor and accessories stolen from a Fairhope home in January, an ATV and utility trailer stolen from an Elberta residence in April, numerous power tools taken from a Fairhope home in May and, power tools stolen from another Fairhope residence in January.

Investigators believe there may be other stolen property that has yet to be recovered, and they are checking with local pawn shops and following up on other leads. All recovered property has been released to the original owners.

Police say that in addition to the five cases cleared with Baird’s arrest, investigators are attempting to learn if he might have been involved in other unsolved thefts and/or burglaries in the county.

Because the investigation is ongoing, Sawyer declined to release specific details that led to Baird’s arrest.

At press time, the suspect was being held in the Baldwin County Corrections Center in Bay Minette with bond set at $25,000.