Police: Alex City man confesses to string of lake house break-ins

TALLAPOOSA CO., AL (WSFA) - An Alexander City man has been tied to a slew of burglaries at lake homes in a tri-county area after multiple law enforcement agencies worked together to crack the cases.

For weeks, the Lake Martin community has been on edge.

Mack Daugherty, chief of security for Russell Lands Corporation, says several houses in two of their developments- Windermere and Trillium- and a number of their cabins around the lake have been broken into recently.

"Over the past several weeks, we've had numerous burglaries around Lake Martin and there's been a lot of concern obviously among the residents. Through joint efforts with numerous agencies in three counties, we were able to solve those crimes," he said.

Investigators say Jon Pons, 37, of Alexander City, is responsible for at least 21 break-ins.

"He would target these lake home, vacation homes, force his way into the residence, go in and take the flat screen TVS, the remotes, the power cords, and be on his way," said Detective George Long with the Alexander City Police Department.

Pons was arrested on October 1st, hours after breaking into a lake house and nearly being caught red-handed, according to police.

On September 30th around 8:30 pm, the Alexander City Police Department received an alarm call to Lake Point Drive. When officers arrived on the scene, they found the front door forced open and a car on the side of the road. Officers also noticed something in the woods, finding the TV, remote and power cord from the home on the ground. They knew the burglary suspect was close and set up a perimeter but weren't able to locate anyone. Around 12:30 am on October 1st, officers were called to a home on Elkahatchee Road and Pons was arrested for disorderly conduct when police made contact with him there.

Law enforcement agencies started sharing information about the influx of break-ins and the case against Pons came together.

He was already a person of interest in several break-ins in the Kowaliga area.

"Once they were able to apprehend him on disorderly conduct, our investigators interviewed him and he's admitted to 10-11 burglaries here in our county," said Chief Deputy Ricky Lowery with the Elmore County Sheriff's Office.

According to officials, Pons admitted to all of the crimes and even led detectives to some of the locations he targeted.

He is now connected to four burglaries in Alexander City, three in Tallapoosa County, 11 in Elmore County and three in Coosa County and faces charges in all four jurisdictions.

Law enforcement agencies are looking at other crimes to see if Pons has any involvement as their joint investigation continues.

He's already done time for burglary and was released from prison this year after only serving 18 months of a 48 month sentence.

In 2013, he pleaded guilty to burglary and theft charges in Tallapoosa County after breaking into a home and stealing guns, jewelry and electronics.

Now, he's back behind bars and the burglary bust is welcome news for residents.

"When you have this type of situation going on, everybody becomes very tense and concerned about their homes and properties so to be able to announce that the crimes have been solved, is always a big plus, puts the residents at ease," Daugherty said. "I guess the one good thing about this is that it makes people more security minded. It makes them more aware of the need for alarm systems and always arming those alarm systems when they're away from their homes."

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