CENTRALIA, IL — A homeless man has been charged in Marion County Court with felony burglary and theft after Centralia police arrested him allegedly squatting in a vacant home where they reportedly located items taken from storage unit burglaries. A neighbor had alerted police to people going in and out of the home he believed was supposed to be vacant.

Police located 31-year-old Stephen Bryant, who told them he was homeless. Another person in the home, 31-year-old Sarah Niebert of Salem Mobile Home Park, was given a notice to appear for criminal trespass and criminal damage to property. Officers found items throughout the home believed to have been taken from storage shed burglaries in the area.

Anyone who has had an area storage unit entered recently is urged to contact Centralia Police at 618-533-7602 and ask for the detective division.