Alleged serial burglar in Louisville appears in court

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - There has been a rash of burglaries and break-ins across Louisville, with some of them caught on camera.

On Saturday, the man charged in connection to those burglaries went before a judge. Louisville officers arrested and charged Lester Terry, Jr. with several counts of burglary.

His latest alleged string of crime was in LMPD’s 5th Division, including the Highlands and Clifton neighborhoods. LMPD confirmed Terry was charged in connection to three burglaries in Louisville’s fifth division.

The owners of ShopBar said he spent about 30 minutes inside their store early Tuesday morning, but luckily, they got the whole thing on camera.

“He took a ton of jewelry,” co-owner Natasha Sud said. “I saw a lot of sterling silver jewelry. So he took a lot of rings and other things that we’re just trying to piece together right now. He tried to take the register but he couldn’t get in it.”

However, they’re not the only ones accused of being victimized. LMPD said Terry also broke into J Gumbo’s on Grinstead Drive and European Splendor on Frankfort Avenue.

The trend has left small businesses wondering, why them?

“I saw the broken window and immediately was like why are you robbing us, you know what I mean,” ShopBar’s co-owner Gerald Dickerson said. “Like the many stores on this road like we’re all small businesses, you know what I’m saying.”

Terry is accused of doing this many times before. Back in August, he was arrested for burglarizing four other small businesses near NuLu, including Senora Arepa, and Cultured.

A supervisor from Cultured told WAVE News that Terry broke into their building four times alone.

His arrest was made a little easier thanks to the camera footage from ShopBar and the owners there are hoping that a little bit of evidence goes a long way.

“I want our money and our stuff back,” Sud said. “We kind of know who it might be so we will see, but I think he’s an idiot for coming in our shop.”

The business owners said they never expected to have a serial burglar in their midst, but thanks to all the video and pictures, they’re hoping nobody will want to break into their establishments again.

Terry appeared in court on Saturday. A not-guilty plea was entered and his bail was set at $10,000 full cash bond.

He is scheduled to appear in court again on Jan. 30.

Copyright 2023 WAVE. All rights reserved.