Man arrested for stealing equipment and tools from construction

Murfreesboro Police Department (MPD) officers arrest a Williamson County man on Monday, Oct. 5, for breaking into three construction sites and stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of tools and equipment.

Matthew Edward Reed, 25, of Thompson Station, has been charged with burglary, possession of burglary tools, and theft of property.

While on routine patrol Monday morning around 2:45 a.m., two MPD mid-night shift officers noticed sparks coming from a construction site located at 316 Fortress Blvd. Upon inspection, they saw a chain on the gate with a missing lock. The officers searched the construction site and located Reed. He claimed he worked there. During the on-site investigation, officers found stolen items, six (6) locks and tools used to cut them in Reed’s vehicle.

Reed is also accused of burglarizing a storage container at a nearby construction site at the corner of Fortress Blvd. and Bill Smith Dr. the same morning.

Criminal Investigations Division detectives interviewed Reed and subsequently charged him with another construction site burglary that occurred at 2779 New Salem Hwy on Oct. 2. Reed is accused of stealing tools and equipment valued at $5,400 from that location.

Reed is suspected of committing similar burglaries at construction sites in Metro Nashville and pawning the tools.

Police have returned most of the stolen items recovered in Murfreesboro.

Reed was booked into the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center Monday and released the same day on a $32,000 bond. He has a hearing in Rutherford County General Session Court on Dec. 14.