Man arrested in rash of Midtown burglaries

The sixth time was the charm for Atlanta police officers who arrested a burglary suspect early Wednesday while staking out a Midtown fitness center that had been targeted five times this month.

The Urban Body fitness salon on Ponce de Leon Place, about a block from City Hall East, was broken into on June 4, June 6, June 8, June 11 and again on Tuesday morning, according to police incident reports.

On June 4, the thief or thieves cut a plexiglass side window and crawled in before taking a computer monitor. According to the incident report, the suspect also tried to get a flat screen TV off the wall, and “ate candy out of an office.”

Two days later, someone broke a window, then took a 32-inch flat screen TV. On June 8, a flat screen TV was taken from the wall by someone who again broke in through a window, according to police.

On June 11, two computer screens were stolen by someone who police determined pushed in an air conditioning unit to gain entry to Urban Body’s yoga/pilates studio, which is in a building adjacent to the fitness center.

Early Tuesday morning, officers responding to an alarm call discovered the rear door to the fitness studio broken out, and two computer monitors missing.

Later Tuesday, a man who lives in the neighborhood told detectives that a homeless man he knew by the name of Ray had admitted breaking into the business and stealing TVs. The witness told investigators that “Ray” had asked him to accompany him in a burglary, but he refused.

Early Wednesday, officers were conducting surveillance when a man, identified as Donald Rayfield, attempted to break out a window of the yoga studio.

Police arrested Rayfield and charged him with criminal attempt (burglary).

Rayfield faces other charges, as the witness later identified Rayfield as the man who had told him about the burglaries.