CHEHALIS, Lewis County — The Lewis County sheriff's office says a man who confessed to nine burglaries and attempted burglaries says he got the idea from watching the show "To Catch a Thief" on the A&E cable channel.

The 20-year-old Chehalis man, Shad Joseph Griffith, was arrested Wednesday and described how he cased and entered homes from Winlock to Chehalis.

Deputies say he would knock on doors during the day and tell people he was looking for a lost dog. If no one was home he would look for an open window or door. He would take loose coins or pills from a bottle, leaving no sign of a break-in.

He says he started doing it for the drugs and later entered homes just for the thrill.