Police arrested a 49-year-old Madison man Wednesday afternoon in connection with a burglary at State Street Brats Monday.
Thad Branch entered an office within State Street Brats Monday night and stole an undisclosed amount of money from the establishment, according to a Madison Police Department incident report. Police posted surveillance photos of the suspect entering the office, urging anyone with information to contact Madison Area Crime Stoppers, the report said.
After observing the surveillance pictures on a media website, a citizen called the MPD and positively identified the suspect as 49-year-old Thad Branch, the police report said.
MPD spokesperson Joel DeSpain said upon arrest at his home, Branch was wearing the same outfit as seen in the surveillance images, which he said “made it pretty clear that [Branch] was the suspect.”
Branch also had hundreds of dollars in his wallet, presumably from the robbery, DeSpain said.
“If you have a decent surveillance camera that puts out clear images, it can help put people in custody,” DeSpain said.
In this case, the surveillance cameras at State Street Brats were able to provide images to MPD that sparked an almost instant response from the public, DeSpain added.
DeSpain said police recommend business owners invest in these high quality surveillance cameras because they can be useful in similar incidents.
DeSpain said Branch is currently on probation hold for the burglary.
According to Wisconsin Circuit Court records, Branch has an extensive criminal background, including robbery, disorderly conduct, bail jumping and several other misdemeanors.