A man linked to five burglaries which occurred around the Thomas and Scott circles from Dec. 30 until Jan. 24 was arrested on Jan. 30 and positively identified after his Twitter account was linked to a Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera that captured him in one of the burglarized sites. Police said Thomas Matthew Collodel resisted arrest and assaulted a police officer.
Police say that Collodel was identified when a CCTV footage showed a man wearing a leather jacket entered the Bentley luxury apartments, tampered with the concierge desk and used the computer. A quick look at the computer showed that, at the time the theft occurred, the computer was used to access Collodel's Twitter account which had pictures of him that matched the person in the CCTV footage.
Thefts occurred in the Homewood Suites hotel and Iron Gate Restaurant on Jan. 7 and 21, respectively. A break-in also occurred in a business establishment on Jan. 24 where Collodel tried to open the doors of cars parked in the garage, though he was unsuccessful in his attempt and, perhaps in frustration or he just forgot, the thief left his own leather jacket in the garage- the same jacket worn by the thief in the CCTV footage taken from the first robbery. On the same day, another business establishment reported a burglary which was traced back to Collodel.
The 33-year-old Collodel from McLean was hospitalized after the violent arrest and an affidavit released on Feb. 1 reveals that he also trashed the hospital room he stayed in. Police affidavit indicates that Collodel damaged a hospital bathroom and destroyed pipes until the room flooded.
Collodel has been charged with five counts of burglary, which was scheduled for a hearing at the D.C. Superior Court on Feb. 4. Collodel's undoing- and the police's successful identification- was due to his attachment to social media.
