Assault suspect could be connected to other crimes - WAFF-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Huntsville, AL

31-year-old Mitchell Blake Terry was arrested and charged in connection with at least two Shoals home invasions.

One was a sexual assault on an 18-year-old UNA student.

Now police are working to determine if Terry is connected to earlier break-ins this year, which also targeted women at UNA.

Officials at the apartment said they are very pleased with the arrest. One resident said this arrest has him breathing a sigh of relief.

"Once someone breaks into your house, it's not so much of an issue of them breaking into the house, it's the fact that you can't sleep easy. You can't sleep at night knowing that someone could possibly break in," said resident Keldric Docher.

Docher lives in the Heathrow apartment complex.

Talk of Wednesday's arrest has him thinking about his own experience.

"I was actually put at ease a little bit because a few weeks ago my apartment was broken into. Fortunately, nothing was stolen or anything like that," he said.

Since then, Docher and his roommate have stepped up their home security.

"We got reinforced doors. We actually went to some of the home improvement stores and bought a security system," said Docher. "It's just the little things to keep you at ease just so you can sleep peaceful at night."

Officers at the Florence Police Department are encouraging everyone to take these steps.

"The days of keeping your doors unlocked are over," said Sgt. Cliff Billingsley with Florence PD. "Even in a safe community like Florence, we can be targets for these types of crimes and others."

"You never know what the next person will do. The only thing you can try to do is to just take preventative measures," Docher said.

The crimes happened within five miles of UNA.

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