An Edinburgh man was arrested after witnesses said he was breaking into cars in Columbus, and he battered a police officer during his arrest, police said.
Police went to a neighborhood on the northside of Columbus at 3:30 a.m. Sunday after one witness reported seeing a man wearing all black clothing rummaging through vehicles and leaving the area in a dark-colored sport utility vehicle.
Officers were later sent to another neighborhood about an intoxicated man yelling in the roadway outside a dark-colored SUV, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
The man, identified as Derek R. Jordan, 22, of Edinburgh, matched the description witnesses gave about the man breaking into vehicles, Harris said, and he was later identified by witnesses as the individual on Hawpatch Drive.
When Jordan was arrested, he became combative and kicked an officer, Harris said. He was arrested on preliminary charges of theft and battery on a law enforcement officer, Harris said.
Jordan was released from the Bartholomew County Jail after posting $1,784.05 bond, jail officials said.