MERRILLVILLE, Ind. - An alleged burglar is under arrest after he accidentally provided police with a key clue.

CBS 2 Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones reports on the evidence that helped crack the case.

Saws, car stereos, even sets of golf clubs were all recovered from a string of burglaries in Northwest Indiana, and police think one man is responsible.

“The world’s dumbest criminal, maybe,” is how burglary victim Chris Brock described the alleged criminal.

Brock says he found a paper trail Phillip Miley allegedly left while breaking into his home, including a receipt from when he bonded out of jail on another burglary charge.

“He left his Social Security card, and a couple of check stubs,” Brock said.

Police believe the suspect hit a home in Lake County and up to four in Porter County.

Lake County Deputy Commander Shaw Spurlock invited Miley in to talk, and that’s when police say he revealed how he allegedly bagged the items.

“As far as we know, these crimes occurred on one single night. He was busy the entire night,” said Detective Jeff Biggs of the Porter County Sheriff’s Department.

“I’ve lived here for seven years and never had an incident. And then, all of a sudden in a week I’ve had three incidents,” Brock said.

He says the Dec. 28 burglary seems to have touched off more vandalism at his home.

He says he still has injuries from when someone stole his dump truck, then ran into him and just Tuesday morning, an explosion in his front yard.

Police are investigating to see whether the cases are connected.

In the meantime Brock and other victims wait to have their belongings returned to them.

This article was found on CBS2Chicago.com