An 18-year-old Madison man arrested for identity theft on Sept. 2 could be a suspect in a number of thefts and burglaries in a southwest side neighborhood, according to Madison police.

Ernest Bailey was tentatively charged with being a party to the crime of identity theft after a burglary at a residence on Valhalla Court in the High Point Estates neighborhood on Aug. 29, one of several break-ins in that neighborhood in late August and early September.

"These cases remain under investigation, and it is not yet known whether Mr. Bailey is culpable for these other crimes," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain.

The charges against Bailey stemmed from him being with a woman who used a stolen credit card to make purchases at a local service station following the Aug. 29 Valhalla Court burglary, police said.

"The card and other items were stolen from a 43-year-old woman's purse," DeSpain said. "At the time of that crime, a GMC Yukon was also stolen from a nearby home."

Prior to the Valhalla Court incident, Bailey had been arrested on Aug. 16 and charged with party to the crime of driving a vehicle without the owner's consent, misappropriating identification information to obtain money and theft, police said.

He was released from jail on Aug. 18 after charges were filed, with arraignment on those charges set for Sept. 20 in Dane County Circuit Court, according to court records.

"At the time of his arrest, a BB gun that looks like a Glock semi-automatic handgun was found in his possession," DeSpain said.