The first arrest Bridgeport police have made since stepping up patrols following a string of business burglaries was of a man accused stealing car batteries from a Park City body shop.

Surveillance video shows Alexander Lemon, 48, stealing batteries out of vehicles at Boccanfuso and Sons, according to police. One of the owners, Crescienzo Boccanfuso, eventually caught Lemon in the act, officials say.

"I let him go," Boccanfuso says -- but not before he took his picture and his identification. 

When the business owner discovered the missing batteries, he investigated local scrap yards himself.

"I put my eyes on the batteries," he says. "On him too, hanging out in Washington Park. Police went over there and picked him up."

Boccanfuso says Lemon took a big risk for a small profit. The batteries sold as scrap for about $10 each. And he says Lemon took them out with bolt cutters, potentially causing more damage than he made from the sales.

"I have to go to work every day to earn what I have," Boccanfuso says. "I think that everyone else should have to work for it also."

Police say it's unclear whether Lemon played a role in other break-ins across the city.

Police say Boccanfuso has also helped them arrest two other burglary suspects.