They caught one man Thursday and found much of the former NFL player's missing property in a storage facility. Investigators spent the night at the facility, protecting the items they discovered. Friday, detectives logged it all as evidence.
But within days, Neal and the other victims will start to get back their recovered property. Investigators found a lot of Neal's prized possessions -- Muhammad Ali's gloves, an autographed Jerry Rice jersey, and his own jerseys. Some of his wife's 438 designer purses are also in this storage facility, all hidden there by the burglars who broke into the Neal's' home two months ago.
It's not everything the Neal's' lost, but it's a start.
"I'm just happy they got something back," said Lorenzo Neal. "If it's one item or three, there's a lot of stuff we're going to get back. You're just happy you're getting something back."
Sheriff's investigators served a search warrant on the storage facility Thursday night. Mixed with the stolen items, they found other signs of criminal activity: Next to the Rice jersey was a big bag of cocaine, a handgun, and thousands of dollars in cash.
Investigators served another warrant at the suspect's home, about a mile away. There, they arrested 40-year-old Robert Campos, who has a history of committing similar crimes.
But Sheriff Margaret Mims says she doesn't believe he acted alone. Investigators are looking for accomplices, but with one suspect off the streets, Neal says he and the other victims will be sleeping a lot easier.
"You still feel uneasy," he said. "I mean, the first couple nights, you go into your house and you're sleeping and you're like, 'man, someone's been in my house. Someone violated me and my family.'"
Neal hired private detectives to help investigators find the burglars. He also offered a $20,000 reward for clues, but Sheriff Mims says it's still to be determined whether anyone has earned that money.
The Neal's and other victims probably won't get their property back any time soon.
Detectives are required to hold onto the recovered property -- possibly until the case goes to trial -- so it could still be quite a while. But Neal says he's happy just knowing it's been found.
