Goochland County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man last Thursday night who they believe is behind a number of break-ins that occurred this summer and fall in Goochland and Hanover counties.

Michael Christopher Scott, 22, was arrested at about 9 p.m. while traveling along Va. Route 6 just east of George’s Tavern. Local authorities had received a tip that Scott was in the area, according to Investigator Mike East with the Goochland County Sheriff’s Office.

“We knew Hanover deputies were already looking for him and we had reason to believe he was in our county,” East said, adding that Hanover had two warrants out for his arrest.

Scott, a resident of Bumpass, was pulled over while driving a red Dodge Stratus and was arrested for possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance, which East said authorities believed to be marijuana.

At the time of his arrest, authorities recovered many items from his vehicle, including a handgun, a rifle, two shotguns, and a 23-inch LG flat-screen television. Subsequently, Scott was charged with possession of stolen property.

“The investigation is in its early stages,” East said Monday. “We’re still in the process of cataloging the items and also continuing to investigate.”

East couldn’t say whether law enforcement officials in either locality had any reason to believe Scott, who is being held in the Henrico Count Jail, had any sort of accomplice in the break-ins.

“Also, the items we recovered might be from a breaking-and-entering that we’re not aware of or they could be from one we’re investigating,” East said.

Though he didn’t have the specific number of total items recovered by authorities, which included some jewelry, he described the items as being a “good amount.”

According to Sgt. Chris Whitley with the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, authorities in the two adjoining counties were looking into a total of five breaking-and-entering incidents within the localities with similar circumstances.

On Nov. 5, Hanover officers responded to the 20200 block of Pony Farm Road for a reported breaking-and-entering. The home, located in the Rockville area of Hanover near the Goochland line, had been burglarized.

An unknown suspect or suspects forced entry during the day, stealing a flat screen television, jewelry, and an undisclosed amount of money. At the time, the residence was unoccupied and no one was injured.

Meanwhile, Hanover investigators are continue to explore the possibility that a similar break-in to a private residence in Beaverdam may be related. That incident, which occurred Oct. 23, also occurred during the day with no injuries, though not all of the items taken matched the Rockville burglary.

While investigating the two incidents, the Hanover Sheriff’s Office learned of several similar break-ins being investigated in the western part of Goochland by the Goochland County Sheriff’s Office.

As with the Hanover break-ins, the three that took place in Goochland involved flat-screen televisions and jewelry being stolen. The incidents occurred during the daytime to unoccupied homes.

On Aug. 27, a home in the 5400 block of Duvall Road in Kent’s Store was burglarized, followed by a home in the 3900 block of Whitehall Road in Sandy Hook on Sept. 26 and finally a home in the 4300 block of Payne Road in Columbia on Oct. 23.

Though Scott is in custody, the investigation continues and authorities are continuing to put together where the items came from and if Scott was involved in all of them.

Anyone with any additional information on any of the break-ins is asked to contact Crimestoppers at 780-100, the Hanover Sheriff’s Office at 365-6140, or the Goochland County Sheriff’s Office at 556-5349.