Holmes Beach police arrested resident Michael Wallen, 33, Dec. 23 for allegedly burglarizing a vehicle.
Officers responded to a call from a Bradenton resident who said he saw a man going through his vehicle. He said confronted the man and had him pinned down.
Officers found the caller and the man he was holding, later identified as Wallen, and handcuffed the suspect.
An officer searched Wallen and found $4 allegedly taken from the vehicle.
An officer arrested Wallen and transported him to the Manatee County jail, where he was released Dec. 27 after posting $5,000 bond.
Burglary of a conveyance is a third-degree felony but if the person also commits assault or battery in the process of committing the initial crime, they can be charged with a first-degree felony.
Wallen faces the first-degree felony charge.
If convicted, a first-degree felony charge is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, 30 years of probation and a $10,000 fine.
However, the charge is listed as a life felony on the Manatee County Clerk of Court’s website, records.manateeclerk.com.
A life felony is punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole, or lifetime probation and a $15,000 fine.
An arraignment will be at 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 14, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.