A man suspected of breaking into and staying overnight in an unoccupied room at the Quality Inn in Chesterton was tracked to and arrested at a Comfort Inn in Porter Tuesday, police said.
Abdullah Zegar, 47, of Homer Glen, Illinois, is charged with a Level 4 felony of burglary of a dwelling and a misdemeanor theft charge.
During the course of their investigation, Chesterton Police detectives found that Zegar had been arrested last month for a similar incident involving a hotel room in Traverse City, Michigan.
Suspicions were initially raised at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday when a Quality Inn employee found that a room was locked from the inside where no one was registered.
When the room’s window was checked from the outside, an employee “noticed movement behind the curtains,” police said.
“Moments later, the male exited the room, ignored the hotel owner’s attempts to question him, and fled on foot toward Roberts Road,” the police report said.
Chesterton Police detectives reviewed surveillance video from an area business and were able to see a man, matching the description of the one who fled the Quality Inn, enter a maroon sedan and drive off.
Using the Flock Safety license plate readers, police were able to track the man, identified as Zegar, to the Comfort Inn on U.S. 20 in Porter.
Zegar was arrested without incident in the pool area of the Comfort Inn.
When he was questioned by detectives, Zegar admitted to entering the Quality Inn guest room through a rear window where the screen had been found removed. The suspect also acknowledged staying in the room overnight without registering as a guest or paying for the room, police said.
Chesterton Police Chief Tim Richardson credits the police force for their quick response and exceptional teamwork, with the aid of the license plate reader cameras, in resolving the case so rapidly.
Zegar had lodging Tuesday and Wednesday nights at the Porter County Jail. He was slated for an initial hearing in Porter Superior Court 5 Thursday, when bond would be set.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
