A man from Nebraska and another man, who was said to be a transient, were arrested late Tuesday night in connection with a burglary. 47-year old Chris Miller, of Omaha, and 22-year old Joseph C. Smith, Jr., were both arrested and charged with Theft in the 2nd degree and Burglary in the 3rd degree. They were booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail.

The pair were arrested during an investigation into a garage burglary reported just after 11-p.m., Tuesday, in the 1600 block of 3rd Avenue, in Council Bluffs. Upon meeting with the victim of the burglary, officers were shown home surveillance video of the break‐in taking place, which recorded two male suspects and the vehicle they had been driving. While officers were still at the scene, completing reports, one of the suspects approached and asked what was going on.

Joseph C. Smith, Jr.

Chris Miller

An officer recognized him from the video and detained him for questioning. Other officers checked the surrounding neighborhood and were able to locate the vehicle that had been used in the burglary, a red Ford Ranger pick up. The bed of the truck contained several items that had been taken during the burglary. Officers contacted and arranged to meet with the owner of the Ford Ranger who advised Officers that his truck had been stolen.

The Officers recognized the Owner of the truck from the video as the other suspect in the burglary. He was also taken in for questioning by detectives. Over $3,000 in stolen property from the garage was recovered from the pickup and returned to the burglary victim.