Yuma man accused of burglarizing multiple businesses formally charged

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - The Yuma man accused of burglarizing several businesses has been formally charged Wednesday.

32-year-old Charles Brownlee faces eight felony charges, including burglary, theft, trafficking in stolen property and drug possession.

His bond was lowered to $200,000 secure from $235,000 in cash.

The Yuma Police Department (YPD) arrested Brownlee Sunday after allegedly burglarizing several commercial buildings, where the losses total to more then $350,000.

“Pretty good deal for our officers and our detectives and glad we got them off the streets," Sgt. Lori Franklin of the YPD Public Affairs unit said.

Investigators say a search warrant led to the recovery of stolen property, along with approximately 20 grams of cocaine and 31 grams of methamphetamine.

Officers say the burglaries happened earlier this month on Avenue 3E and 30th Street. YPD says burglaries usually rise during this time of the year.

"We do notice an uptick in burglaries and stuff in the summer times...because a lot of residence can be vacant because of winter visitors or people going on vacation," said Sgt. Lori Franklin, Public Information Officer for YPD. "Be alert if you have somebody who's a seasonal person, and the house is vacant for a while, or your neighbors are going on vacation, just be more watchful of it."

During the hearing, Yuma Justice Court Judge Gregory Stewart ordered Brownlee to return to court next week. His next hearing scheduled for July 30th.

“I’ll schedule your return date before the court," Judge Stewart said. "By law the preliminary hearing must be scheduled for July 30th at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. We may know sooner as to whether or not the case will be moving on to Superior Court or not.”

The case remains active as court proceedings continue. We'll update as more information becomes available.