A 22-year-old Lawrence man was arrested Tuesday morning near the 900 block of Arkansas Street for stealing assorted items from cars, police said.

Lawrence Police Sgt. Jim Martin said that a resident spotted the man peeking into vehicles and called police at 3:28 a.m.

“We had a lot of officers in the area who could set up a perimeter,” Martin said. Officers, while talking on the radio in whispers, coordinated their positions around the man.

The suspect, who was described as a white male, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and wearing a blue jersey and a baseball cap, spotted police and began running. Officers stopped him and took him into custody.

Police said the man broke into three cars but that they arrested him before he managed to steal anything of value. Police reported finding a thumb drive, lighters and a gob of coins in his possession.

The suspect was arrested on three counts of auto burglary, four counts of attempted auto burglary and one count of obstruction, said Kim Murphree, police spokeswoman. He was booked into the Douglas County Jail.