Burglary suspects face charges in Poplar Bluff

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Two burglary suspects have been found using the tracking mechanism in a stolen laptop computer.

Nick Alcala, 39, of the 900 block of Kinzer Street was arrested Saturday by Poplar Bluff police. Alcala is charged with first-degree burglary, armed criminal action and felony stealing. He was lodged in the Butler County Jail, where he is held on a $250,000 bond.

Douglas Herzog, 53, of the 1700 block of West Spring Street was arrested Friday and charged with felony receiving stolen property and booked in the jail.

At approximately 3:50 p.m. Friday, officers were dispatched to a house in the 900 block of Lester street. A mother had been home alone with her 3-year-old son when a man entered by cutting a screen on a front window, according to a news release from Capt. David Sutton. She armed herself with a golf club and confronted the intruder.

The intruder flourished a knife, yelled, jumped back out through the window and fled the scene, the release states.

The only item taken during the burglary was a laptop computer.

Friday evening, a locating device installed on the computer indicated it had accessed the Internet from a residence on West Spring Street. When officers responded to that location, they arrested Herzog and recovered the stolen computer. During an interview, Herzog said he bought the computer from Alcala.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, Mo.