JEFFERSON COUNTY, Alabama -- A Center Point man arrested in a Grayson Valley break-in this month is believed to be responsible for between 40 and 50 burglaries in eastern Jefferson County and Birmingham.

The crime spree, from May through August, was in part documented in a series of text messages between the suspected burglar and his girlfriend, who acted as a lookout, authorities said today.

Jason Glenn Pierce, 35, is charged with burglary. His girlfriend is a cooperating witnesses and has not been charged.

"They used cell phones to communicate by text message," said Jefferson County Chief Deputy Randy Christian. "It appears that she forgot to delete the text messages and has recorded an electronic history of this, and several other burglaries in the Center Point area over the past few months."

Deputies on Aug. 1 were called to a burglary in progress in the 1900 block of Carlisle Drive in the Grayson Valley area. A witness gave a description of a man and a woman and the vehicle they were driving.

Member of the sheriff's Street Crimes Unit found the vehicle and stopped it to talk to the driver. His clothes matched the description of the suspect, and there was a pry bar in the car.

Pierce told deputies he had just dropped off his girlfriend at her nearby home. Deputies picked her up and both were taken back to the scene and identified by the witness, Christian said.

Workers at a nearby recycling center confirmed the couple had been in earlier that day, and gave deputies a list of items they had sold.

The girlfriend, whose name has not been released, is cooperating with deputies, and has pointed out several homes to detectives where she acted as a lookout, Christian said.

"We have no indication she went into any of the homes and her cooperation has been key," he said.

The homes were vacant and copper appeared to be the primary motivation.

Pierce is out of jail on bond, but Christian said the investigation is ongoing and numerous additional charges are expected.

"This suspect and others have been just raping communities on vacant-home copper thefts so hats off to our Street Crimes Unit. The thousands of dollars in damage they have caused compared to the few hundred dollars they sell the copper for is ridiculous," Christian said.

"We will push hard for a judge to order them to pay for the damage through restitution to the victims. If they can't pay for the damage surely that will mean significant jail time. We really appreciate the log kept on the cell phone. That made it pretty easy once we had that. Like a thief keeping a diary."