Burglar arrested in spite of warning text message

A man was arrested Sunday afternoon after breaking into a Columbia home, despite warning the victim via text against alerting the authorities.

Douglas Edward Nix Jr., 30, broke into a house in the 700 block of Demaret Drive at approximately 1:35 p.m., attempted to assault the owner and then left. The police were called as Nix was fleeing the scene, according to a news release from the Boone County Sheriff's Department. He was gone by the time the deputies arrived.

“We assume he left in a vehicle, but we have no information regarding that," sheriff's department deputy Mark Winchester said.

While police were investigating the incident, Nix sent a text message warning the victim against reporting the incident to the authorities. Using information provided by the victim, the police arrested Nix at his residence at approximately 3:05 p.m. He offered no resistance, Winchester said.

Nix was charged with first-degree burglary, third-degree assault, second-degree property damage and tampering with a victim of a felony, according to the news release. His bond for the burglary offense was set at $10,000 and $5,500 for the other charges.

This is the second residential burglary and third assault to take place in a two-mile radius since the beginning of September, according to online police statistics.