Formal charges have been filed against one of the men suspected of committing a string of burglaries into Brown County homes Oct. 16 and 17.

Christopher Acton, 31, of Columbus, was arrested Oct. 17 after he was found running from scene of one of the crimes, on Crainsboro Lane. He was formally charged in Brown Circuit Court on Oct. 18 with burglary, a Level 4 felony; three counts of residential entry, all Level 6 felonies; theft, a Level 6 felony; and criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor.

A second suspect had not yet been publicly identified or arrested as of Oct. 25.

Three homes were burglarized on Oct. 16 and 17 — one on Crainsboro Lane and two in the 3600-3700 blocks of Smith Road. Both roads are just east of Sprunica Elementary School.

A woman at one of the Smith Road homes reported her house had been broken into and was trashed the evening of Oct. 16, Det. Paul Henderson wrote in a probable cause affidavit. A few minutes after that call, police reported that two men had fled on foot from the home. The homeowner reported multiple guns, a bag and a trail camera missing. A security camera had recorded the incident.

Acton and the unidentified suspect had left a vehicle at that scene. Police traced it to Acton’s mother in Columbus. They didn’t find him at that home.

After the men left the first home, they fled south to another home on the same road, the police report said. A resident in the 3500 block of Smith Road reported seeing them separate and run different directions; one man was wearing a mask. That woman released her dogs and told the suspects that she would shoot them, the report said. Police had their canine units track the men, but they were not found that evening.

The next morning the burglary on Crainsboro Lane was reported. The homeowner had arrived back home after working an overnight shift to find his garage door kicked open. Deputies found a locked bedroom and heard noise outside, then found Acton running from the home and took him into custody, the police report said.

While police were investigating that burglary, a neighbor flagged down Henderson and Det. Brian Shrader and told them he’d found a cellphone on the dam of the lake between his property and the Crainsboro Lane property. That neighbor is building a cabin, and he’d found evidence that someone had entered it. Police found the remains of a small fire and a memory card similar to what would be in a trail camera on the floor, along with a digital hard drive and various chargers and cords, the police report said. Police also collected a partially-full water bottle.

In an interview with police, Acton admitted to entering all the above-mentioned properties and acknowledged that another person was involved, but would not say who that person was, the report said.

The guns had not been recovered at the time charges were filed against Acton. Police did find about $32 in quarters in Acton’s pockets; he said that’s because it was “laundry day,” the police report said.