Police: Arrested man stole computer from dentist

A misplaced cell phone helped lead Minden police officers to the man who allegedly paid an unauthorized visit to a local dentist’s office sometime before the clinic was open for business.

Minden Chief of Police Steve Cropper said 29-year-old William Joseph Beard is being held at Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center on two counts of simple burglary after his reported carelessness helped detectives solve the case in only a few hours.

“While collecting evidence at the Elm Street office, officers found a cell phone which did not belong to any of the employees,” Cropper said. “Our detective learned the phone was not one taken during vehicle burglaries we were working. The phone had a name and a GPS which showed a route leading to a Lakeshore Drive address.”

After visiting the address and questioning Beard, officers returned to the police station where they received a call from an individual at the residence.

“We were told we needed to come back, that the suspect was in his room hiding items they knew did not belong to him,” Cropper said. “We received a search warrant, and detectives Keith King Jr. and Chris Cheatham, and Capt. Danny Weaver returned to the house.”

A search of Beard’s room uncovered a computer, identified by serial numbers, reportedly stolen from the dentist’s office along with other items, including dental tools, Cropper said. Officers reportedly also found pill bottles apparently taken from the house next door to the home where Beard was living.