NORTH KINGSTOWN — Police investigating a string of vehicle thefts and thefts from homes in the Quidnesset area early last Tuesday morning thought Donald C. Smith looked suspicious. Smith was seemingly intoxicated as he carried golf clubs in the rain at about 5 a.m.

Shortly after officers spotted Smith on Sunnybrook Drive, another resident identified the golf clubs as his own, according to a department news release.

Smith, 20, of 93 Sunnybrook Drive, was arrested on a charge of receiving stolen goods, the police said.

Also in Smith’s possession were a phone charger, someone else’s identification card, a car key, and various other items that police say appeared to have been stolen.

Later that day police executed a search warrant at Smith’s address and found stolen items that police tied to two recent auto thefts.

Frank L. Tavares, 23, also of 93 Sunnybrook Drive, was taken into custody on a charge of receiving stolen goods.

Police allege that Smith stole a 1997 Chevrolet that he eventually crashed on Forge Road, fleeing the vehicle with the engine still running. AndTavares was linked to the theft of a 2002 Ford F-350 diesel that was later found in a construction site next to Foxwoods in Connecticut.

Police said they believe Smith and Tavares have been involved in area thefts for some time.

Their home — which police said contained “an estimated 4 to 6 months of household garbage” going up to the ceiling, broken and exposed pipes, exposed electrical wires, no heating oil, no hot water and a failed septic system –– had to be condemned.