Man charged with burglary after being spotted in neighbor’s house

The discovery of an intruder in a neighbor’s house has led to his arrest for the break-in and for commercial promotion of marijuana, police said.

Kaʻu Patrol officers responded to a 2:51 p.m. report Saturday at a home on Lehua Lane near Coral Parkway. A 42-year-old woman reported that when she arrived home she found a man in her house. She recognized him as someone who lived in the area. The intruder fled over a fence, causing damage to the fence.

Police found items belonging to the victim piled inside the house next to the front door. They determined that the intruder had taken a shower in the victim’s house and consumed alcohol belonging to the victim. They also determined that the intruder had entered the victim’s car parked in the garage and stolen the car keys.

At 4:40 p.m., officers located the suspect, Jeb Stewart Thurlby, 49, and arrested him on his nearby property. Arresting officers observed marijuana plants growing on the property. Thurlby was taken to the Kona police cellblock while detectives from the Area II Criminal Investigations Section and Vice Section continued the investigation.

Vice officers served a search warrant on Thurlby’s property Sunday and recovered 112 marijuana plants ranging in height from seedlings to 4-feet tall.

Sunday afternoon, Thurlby was charged with commercial promotion of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bail was set at $20,00. He was held at the cellblock until his initial court appearance on the drug charges.

This morning, Thurlby was charged with the additional offenses of burglary, unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle and criminal property damage. His bail on those offenses was set at $7,250. After his court hearing on the drug charges, he was returned to the cellblock until his initial court appearance Tuesday for the burglary related offenses.