A Southern Pines man returned home from shopping Friday afternoon only to find his backdoor kicked in and a burglar in his house.

Caught in the act, the thief ran, carrying some stolen items with him. The victim, whose name was not released, called police to his home at 255 N. May St. just after 2 p.m. They responded within two minutes.

The victim gave officers a description of the suspect, and they immediately began canvassing the neighborhood. Some officers ran around the neighborhood as they frantically set up a net to prevent the thief from escaping.

Officers first thought that the suspect might be armed, because the victim said he was missing an assault rifle. That turned out not to be the case.

As he was responding to the scene, Lt. Christopher Burgess spotted a person matching the description several blocks from the break-in.

Police arrested Charles Terrance Rose, 22, of West End, and charged him with felony breaking and entering, felony larceny and possession of stolen goods.

Police say that Rose was carrying stolen property with him when he was taking into custody. Police did not say what the suspect took from the home.

Contact Matthew Moriarty at 693-2479 or by e-mail at moriarty @thepilot.com.