By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
An Atmore man was arrested by city police last week after he decided, apparently on the spur of the moment, to break several windows of a local fast-food establishment.
“We’re not sure exactly why he did it; we think he might have some mental issues,” said Carolyn Dean, owner of Dean’s Grill, where five windows were shattered or heavily damaged. The popular local eatery was closed at the time of the criminal act.
Police Chief Chuck Brooks said Shawn Edward Brown, 40, was arrested after officers were sent around 10:24 p.m. last Thursday (August 26) to the fast-food establishment in response to reports that someone was systematically breaking its windows.
“Our dispatchers got a call that (a man) wearing a red baseball cap was breaking out the windows of Dean’s Grill,” Brooks said. “When officers arrived, they observed Shawn Brown at the scene. He fit the description, he had some tools with him, and he was arrested.”
According to the Escambia County Detention Center website, Brown remained in jail late Monday, held under a $7,500 bond. He is charged with one count each of possession of burglary tools and third-degree criminal mischief.
Under Alabama Criminal Code, possession of burglary tools is a Class C felony that is punishable upon conviction by a minimum prison sentence of one year and one day, with a maximum sentence of 10 years. A person convicted of such a crime could also be fined up to $15,000.
Brown was later also charged by APD with failure to appear in court on an unrelated charge.