An Ironton City Councilman was arrested for breaking and entering after being found in his neighbor’s garage on Monday.

Chris Haney was arrested by the Ironton Police Department after a neighbor called around 12:36 a.m. on Monday to report that he and his house located on the 1500 block of N. Second Street were being photographed by a man wearing a black shirt and black shorts.

The homeowner said he was sitting in his vehicle when a strange man came into his yard and started taking photos. He told the man to leave and that the man “started saying inappropriate things and left” according to a police report.

The homeowner called his son and the man returned, went into his garage, started screaming and left but came back with a baseball bat. Scared, the man called 911 to report it.

When officers arrived, the man had left and that homeowner reported the person had headed towards Batham Lane. Officers searched the area but couldn’t locate the suspect.

The homeowner called again around 1 a.m. to report the man was back and taking photographs again.

Officers located Haney on Batham Lane photographing residences. Haney had a baseball bat and was ordered to drop it by the officers, which Haney did.

Officers asked Haney why he was taking photos of a residence that wasn’t his and, according to the police report, Haney replied that the house “needs to be taken down because its making the neighborhood look bad.”

The reporting officer noted that Haney had a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person.”

Haney was read his Miranda rights and the officer asked if he had gone into the garage when he was taking photos of the residences and he stated he did not. The officer assisted Haney with looking at the photos on his cell phone and the officer noticed that several photos were right on the neighbor’s property.

The property owner pressed charges and Haney was arrested for breaking and entering and then transported to the Lawrence County Jail.

The case will be sent to prosecutor’s office to see if there is enough evidence to take it to the Ironton Municipal Court.