A man suspected of committing several crimes in the East County within the span of about half an hour was arrested Wednesday, officials said.
Kevin Knight, 43, was taken into custody around 8:30 a.m. near a Wendy's restaurant at the intersection of Campo Road and Spring Street in Spring Valley.
A deputy had been called to the area to investigate a car burglary. When the deputy arrived on scene, Knight ran away, resisting arrest, officials said. The deputy used a taser on Knight and was able to arrest him.
This wasn't Knight's first time attempting to steal a car.
During an action-packed crime spree on Tuesday, he allegedly stole four vehicles in the East County and also committed armed robberies and home invasion robberies and within a very short time span.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said Knight's spree began just after noon when he robbed a smoke shop and travel agency in the 9500-block of Jamacha Boulevard in Spring Valley.
During that robbery, deputies said Knight -- who was armed -- took a purse and car keys, stole a car and drove to the 2700-block of Lake Pointe Drive. There, he ditched the stolen car.
Investigators said the suspect then entered a home through an open door and stole keys to a second car.
He drove that vehicle to a Staples store in Rancho San Diego and left the stolen car behind. From there, he went into a Hallmark store, took another set of car keys and stole a third vehicle, driving that car to the 1600-block of Sundale Road.
Once at that location, investigators said Knight took a fourth set of car keys during a home invasion. He drove that fourth stolen vehicle two miles away from the house and ditched the car.
Witnesses gave investigators a description of Knight Tuesday, which included the fact that he has tattoos all over his chest, arms and back. Knight was caught on surveillance tape a few times during the spree, and officials released those images to the media.
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Ultimately, he was caught. Officials say Knight will face multiple charges, including auto theft, robbery and home invasion robbery.
All of the cars stolen by Knight were recovered Tuesday. No one was injured during the crime spree, but investigators feared Knight could've hurt someone if he wasn't caught, as he was considered armed and dangerous.
