A Covington man was arrested Tuesday for a burglary among a string of weekend incidents along Washington Street, according to the Covington Police Department.

Bennett Lee Cook Jr., 44, of Covington was arrested Tuesday after a CPD officer identified him as the subject caught on a surveillance video entering Oconee Metal Recycling.

He was charged with burglary felony and possession of cocaine, a felony, and bonded out the next day.

OMR General Manager Paul Bacon arrived around 6:30 a.m. May 10 to find someone had removed the air conditioner unit and entered the office.

The only thing missing, according to the report, was the air conditioner.

Video surveillance showed a black male with a shaved head, blue or green tank top, dark pants and brown tennis shoes with a white stripe entering the office around 3:30 a.m. and rummaging around the desks, apparently searching for money, said Bacon.

On the way to the call, officers reported seeing three black males, one with a green tank top and light brown pants and one wearing a white tank top and black pants, walking toward Porterdale but were unable to locate them after the call.

On Tuesday afternoon, CDP Officer Brent Fuesting, who had seen the video, spotted Cook walking along Walnut Street and arrested him.

Cook reportedly put his hand in his right pocket after being told to keep his hands out.

During a pat down, Fuesting felt an item in Cook's pocket and asked if he had a crack rock.

"There should not be any crack in my pocket," Cook said, according to Fuesting's report.

Fuesting found a rock of crack cocaine in Cook's pocket.

"We're thankful for the road officers being sharp and alert and the good video from Oconee," said CPD spokesperson Detective Daniel Seals. "We're still investigating the possibility he might be involved in the other burglaries."

Forced entries and burglaries were also reported at LB Recycling and Spiller's Hardware occurring between the evening of May 9 and morning of May 10.

Officers had responded to an alarm call at LB Recycling around 4 a.m. May 10 and saw nothing out of the ordinary, according to a report. LB employees returning to clock out shortly before 4:30 a.m. found the front bay door open and side entrance forced open. A book and papers were strewn on the floor, but owner Anthony Maddox found nothing missing.

In the report, officers described seeing a black male wearing a green tank top on Washington Street, but were unable to locate him later.

Farther up Washington Street, Spiller's Hardware was also burglarized sometime between 6:30 p.m. May 9 and 7:30 a.m. May 10.

Owner AJ Spiller reported that the perpetrator had entered the building by placing a ladder on a chain link fence and breaking a rear window 16 feet off of the ground. Money from the cash register was taken, but nothing else was missing, according to the report.

The department is currently reviewing video evidence from Spiller's and LB, according to Seals.