A single fingerprint led to the arrest of a Clayton County man who is accused of taking more than $40,000 in computer equipment from several Peachtree City businesses over a two-year span.

Bond has been set at $100,000 for Rodney Keith Holcombe, 26, of Jonesboro, who faces four counts of burglary. He turned himself in Tuesday morning at the Fayette County Jail and had his first appearance in Fayette County Magistrate Court that afternoon.

According to police, Holcombe apparently entered the offices of Merrill Lynch in the Westpark area before 5 p.m. Feb. 25, and he hid in the ceiling above the bathroom as the building was secured for the night. He then made off with $26,200 in computers and accessories before the offices reopened the next day, police said.

A fingerprint was lifted from inside the ceiling, according to Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray, and it was run through a Georgia Bureau of Investigation computer for a possible match with known criminals. A perfect match turned up against Holcombe, who was already on probation for burglary, Murray said.

A search warrant was executed Feb. 28 at Holcombe's home, and that led to the recovery of nearly all of the stolen items from several locations, Murray said. The investigation is ongoing, and charges could come against additional parties for possession of the stolen goods, he added.

Some of the equipment recovered was from previous burglaries at Merrill Lynch and two other tenants in the same Westpark building. These thefts date back to 1998, Murray said.

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