A watchful citizen alerted police to a burglary early Saturday morning, leading to the apprehension of three suspects before they were able to get away.

Just before 3 a.m. Saturday, a citizen called police and reported that a house in the 1400 block of Copeland Road was possibly being burglarized. The first responding uniform patrol officer observed a vehicle leaving the residence, which is located in a rural area. He initiated a traffic stop on the maroon Pontiac Grand Prix about 500 yards from the residence, according to city spokeswoman Debbie George.

During the traffic stop, Officer J. Bulls determined that one of the three men inside was wanted by Chesapeake police, and also noticed other things that led him to call detectives, who executed a search warrant on the vehicle. Among the items located in the vehicle’s trunk was a black bear’s head, which had been stolen from the burglarized residence, George said.

Brandon James Hall, 21, Robert Michael Stepanek, 23, and Kelly Donte Goodman, 21, all of Suffolk, are charged with breaking and entering, conspiracy to break and enter and grand larceny.