South Lake Tahoe police arrest man, recover stolen property from vacation home burglaries

South Lake Tahoe police have arrested a 26-year-old man in connection with several burglaries of vacation homes in town in which a large amount of stolen property was recovered.

Eric Beaman, 26, of South Lake Tahoe, faces charges of being in possession of stolen property, said South Lake Tahoe Police Department Lt. Brian Williams. A search warrant of a home on Armstrong Avenue led to the finding and arrest.

On Tuesday at around 9 a.m., South Lake Tahoe Police officers were conducting an unrelated investigation in the area Elwood Avenue when they noticed a man standing next to a motorcycle that had been reported stolen in a July residential burglary.

Officers noticed that after seeing police the man left the motorcycle and began walking away from it. When officers concluded their unrelated business, neighbors said the man had seemed to be acting suspiciously and had fled on foot after officers were out of his line of sight, said Williams in a news release.

Officers investigated the abandoned motorcycle and discovered it had been the one stolen during the residential burglary in July. Witnesses explained they had seen the suspect flee from Elwood Avenue to a residence on Armstrong Avenue.

South Lake Tahoe police officers and El Dorado County deputies responded to the Armstrong Avenue residence. The occupant would not answer the door, so officers obtained a search warrant for the residence. During the service of this search warrant, officers recovered items which were confirmed as stolen during several recent vacation rental burglaries. Officers arrested Beaman at the Armstrong Avenue address for possession of stolen property. Beaman was not the suspect in the stolen motorcycle case, said Williams.

The suspect from the motorcycle theft was not in the Armstrong Avenue residence at the time of the search warrant service, but has been identified by investigating officers.

Officers are seeking an arrest warrant for this suspect. When this arrest warrant is issued, his identity may be made public. Any victims of recent vacation rental burglaries, or anyone having information they believe may be beneficial to this investigation, is encouraged to call SLTPD at 530-542-6100. Information may also be forwarded to Secret Witness at 530-541-6800 or to SLTPD Detectives via Facebook, at www.facebook.com/sltpd.detectives