Burglary suspect hides on roof of home

INDIANAPOLIS - On Labor Day, Indianapolis Metro Police Officers spent the early morning hours grilling a man suspected of burglary.

It's a story we first broke on Daybreak. Police say they caught the suspect in the act, on the city's west side, hiding in an unusual location. We were there when the man was taken into custody.

Before police put this suspected burglar in handcuffs, James Ward was hiding on the roof of a house on 10th Street near Somerset. Police say he broke into a home on West 14th Street around 4:00am Monday. When police showed up at that house, he fled.

"The fact that they caught the guy, I'm very happy," says Dave Rimer a resident in this area."

Now, neighbors relieved Ward is no longer tormenting the community. It took IMPD officers nearly two hours and the help of a police dog to track the 50 year old down.

"He didn't want to come down. He was up there for some minutes. We had to coax him," says IMPD Sgt. Thomas Westrick.

Finally, he surrendered after officers used pepper spray on him. Police say Ward took a mountain bike, which officers later found. But this isn't the first time Ward has been in trouble. According to officers, Ward has been arrested for various crimes. Those crimes range from burglary to distributing narcotics. Meanwhile, some neighbors watching the takedown say several homes in this area have been burglarized in recene weeks.

"There's been a lot of break-ins around here lately. My house got broken into about three weeks ago. I don't know that this is the guy that broke in my house but maybe it will be a difference," says one neighbor.

For now, some residents say, they are relieved one criminal is behind bars.

No one was severely injured. Paramedics treated Ward on scene for a few scrapes and bruises.