KNOXVILLE – An Otley man was arrested in Knoxville on a felony burglary charge.

Court records show that on June 5, the Knoxville Police Department received a report of a burglary at 302 North Roche Street. The report stated that two firearms were stolen from a bedroom, as well as other small household goods. The theft was said to have taken place while the victim was in the home sleeping. The burglar, who was identified as 63-year-old Curtis Kane of Otley, allegedly made a forced entry into the residence through a basement window, and a witness told a police officer that he saw a man with short hair and a small dog carry two gun cases away from the victim’s property the day before.

Police say that a trail of spilled laundry detergent led from the crime scene to a residence three blocks away, ending at a laundry detergent bottle in a trash bin along with a star bit screw. Other items around the exterior of that residence allegedly matched the items taken from the victim’s house, and residents at the house said that Kane was a relative of one of the residents and visited the place sometimes. They consented to officers searching the interior of the home and officers did not locate any more stolen items. While investigating the scene, Kane was seen walking by the residence with a small dog, prompting an officer to speak with him. That officer discovered a screw in Kane’s pocket that matched a screw found in the trash bin with the laundry detergent.

According to court records, on the afternoon of June 5, an officer saw Kane holding a shotgun bore cleaning snake, which was reported missing by the victim. The next day, Kane told Knoxville Police Chief Aaron Fuller that he was missing a walking stick with lightning bolts on it, which had been recovered from the exterior of the victim’s house. 

Then, on June 19, Kane admitted to an officer that he went through the basement window at the victim’s residence.

Kane is being charged with first degree burglary, a class B felony.