Carbondale police find burglary suspect hiding inside rooftop air conditioner

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

CARBONDALE, Ill., (KBSI) — Police arrested an East St. Louis man Thursday after finding him hiding inside a hollowed-out air conditioning unit on the roof of a Carbondale business.

Lewis A. Walsingham, 34, was arrested on suspicion of burglary and criminal damage to property, according to the Carbondale Police Department. He was taken to the Jackson County Jail pending a detention hearing.

Officers responded to a reported burglary at a business in the 2100 block of West Main Street at 12:42 p.m. Oct. 1. Police said they learned a suspect had damaged a rooftop air conditioning unit.

About 8:10 p.m., officers received information that the suspect might have returned. They searched the roof and found burglary tools and Walsingham inside the unit, police said.

The Carbondale Fire Department and Jackson County Sheriff’s Department assisted with the investigation, which remains ongoing.

Anyone with information can call Carbondale police at 618-549-2121 or leave an anonymous tip with Carbondale/SIU Crime Stoppers at 618-549-2677 or the Murphysboro/Jackson County tip line at 618-687-2677.

Walsingham is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.