Birmingham man is behind bars for the second time in 24 hours, first being captured in a stolen car and later caught breaking into vehicles.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office identified the suspect as 41-year-old Carl Leslie Statum. He is now being held without bond in the county jail.

Lawmen first encountered Statum about 4 a.m. Tuesday when a deputy on patrol on Mount Olive Road stopped to help a stranded motorist, said Chief Deputy Randy Christian. The driver, later identified as Statum, told the deputy he had run out of gas.

The deputy, however, ran the car tag and learned the vehicle had been reported stolen to Birmingham police. Statum heard the report, and tried to run away. Deputies captured him a short distance away, and placed him under arrest.

Statum was charged with first-degree receiving stolen property and resisting arrest. He posted bond and was released later Tuesday morning.

Then, at 3 a.m. today, deputies were dispatched to the 1700 block of Neil Road to investigate several reports of cars being burglarized. Christian said one of the victims told deputies that she heard a noise and looked outside to see a man in the back seat of her car. She yelled at him and he ran away on foot.

A description of the suspect was broadcast to other deputies in the area. A deputy spotted the man walking down Hendrix Drive. He was carrying a backpack that had been stolen from one of the cars and it was filled with other stolen property. Again, Statum was identified as the suspect. He is now charged with four counts of unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle, first-degree theft of property, fourth-degree theft of property and public intoxication. Christian said the stolen property was returned to the owners.

Statum's bond on a previous charge has now been revoked. He was convicted in 2004 of two counts of unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle and sentenced to three years in prison. Most recently, he was arrested July 13 for drug possession when deputies found him sitting in a bedroom of his Nile Road home with roughly 27 syringes nearby. Some had the safety caps on and some did not, and authorities said the syringes were believed to be used for heroin.

In March Statum was arrested when he was found in possession of a 2001 Toyota Corolla. He is still awaiting trial in both of those cases.

"Not that you could change the behavior of a knucklehead,'' Christian said, "but eventually they have to figure out that there must be a better way of life."