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Burglar breaks in, steals vapes
Just before 2 AM on Thursday, July 31st, E911 received a call from the security company representing Raymond Express Valero located at 2388 E Hwy 16. They relayed that they’d received an alarm at the location and that the owner was on the way to the store.
Units with the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office were immediately dispatched to the location, with the first unit arriving just minutes after being dispatched. Units arrived on scene to find signs of forced entry and quickly moved to clear the structure.
Deputies cleared the location and with the arrival of the owner were able to view security footage. The footage showed the suspect arrive on foot, bust a large glass window and enter the store. Once inside the suspect, dressed in all black that included a hoodie, mask and gloves, quickly moved behind the counter where he can be seen placing a large amount of vapes into a backpack before exiting the window and walking away on foot.
Given the short time that had elapsed since the burglary, units moved to secure a perimeter and deploying k9 and drone teams to start a track.
Search for suspect unsuccessful
Units, including a K9 team and a county drone team, responded to the scene and began searching the woods to the north and east of the store. The search area was bordered to the north by Brinley Dr and to the east by Joe Cox Rd.
Units searched the area for hours, finding evidence of the suspects presence in a few locations, however after several hours they were unable to locate the suspect.
A resident in the area shared these trail cam photos with me that they turned over to investigators this morning.
Suspect may have committed April burglary
Both units on scene and the owner of the store have expressed their belief that the suspect, a young male, may be the same person responsible for an unsolved burglary at the location in April of this year.
The description of the suspect in that incident matches as well as the choice in what they stole. In the April incident the suspect broke through the back door of the store and stole vapes before walking away from the store on foot.
Active Investigation
This continues to be an active investigation, anyone with information regarding the suspect is asked to call the Coweta County Sheriff’s Department.