South Portland police say images of a car burglar caught on home surveillance videos provided by Sunset Park residents led to the arrest of a suspect Thursday night.

Sgt. Adam Howard said plainclothes police officer David Stailing observed “the person of interest” trying to sell a stolen camera at a local pawn shop around 5 p.m.

Stailing approached the suspect, Joshua Miller, 22, of South Portland, and questioned him. Miller was released, but the camera, which was confiscated, was confirmed to have been stolen from a car that belonged to a Sunset Park resident.

Police arrested Miller on the street Thursday night.

“It was happenstance that the officer was there (at the pawn shop),” Howard said. “But (Miller) generally matched the description of the images we had seen on camera and it was heads-up police work by the officer.”

Stailing was familiar with the break-ins because he had been assigned to investigate them.

Miller has been charged with receiving stolen property – a felony charge because of his criminal record involving theft. He is being held in the Cumberland County Jail.

Officers were searching Miller’s hotel room Thursday night and looking for more stolen items.

South Portland police had received several reports of car break-ins in the neighborhood. On Thursday, the department posted two home surveillance videos on its Facebook page in the hope that someone would recognize the burglar.

In those videos, the suspect walks up to three cars parked in two driveways. The person peeks into the windows of the cars and gently shakes the driver’s side door handle, but after finding that the doors are locked, walks away. The burglar was wearing a white snowsuit and hood.

Both videos were taken early Tuesday morning as sleet and freezing rain fell in Maine.

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