Romanian man sentenced for car break-ins at Chattahoochee River hiking trails
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - A Romanian man is sentenced to over a year in prison for a series of car burglary crimes targeting visitors to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
Mihail Ilie, who lived in Lawrenceville, Georgia, pled guilty in court to two felony violations of the federal Assimilative Crimes Act for possession of burglary tools and attempted car burglary.
In 2022, FOX 5 reported that the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area had more than 100 car break-ins in just 10 months - more than double the previous years. Officials say the burglaries fit a certain pattern: park visitors would arrive back at their car to find the passenger door lock forced with a special tool and all their credit or debit cards left in the vehicle gone. Those cards would then quickly be used at nearby malls to buy jewelry and Apple projects.
"Parks are places where people tend to let their guard down. Their minds enter a safe mode and they become less vigilant when they start their hike or bike ride," said Jeston Fisher, the Chief Ranger at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. "Law Enforcement at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and around the metro Atlanta area work very hard to deter crime and more importantly, educate the visitors. Please help by remembering to leave your valuables at home or take them with you when you recreate."
Using trail cameras and other techniques, park rangers say they identified two vehicles that seemed to be present when the burglaries were reported.
On Sept. 10, 2022, a ranger saw Ilie crouched between one of those suspicious vehicles and another car. Ilie was reportedly using a 12-year-old girl as a lookout, and a search of his car led rangers to discover burglary tools, and receipts for jewelry and Apple products.
"National Parks and Recreational Areas serve as refuges for people to relax and enjoy the outdoors without fear of being targeted by criminals like Ilie," said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. "This case is an example of the importance of citizens reporting property crimes. Without the reports from other visitors to the park who were victims of car burglaries, Rangers would not have identified and arrested Ilie in the act of committing another offense."
After being detained as a flight risk and pleading guilty, a judge sentenced Ilie to one year and a day in prison followed by one year of supervised release.
He is also required to pay over $800 in restitution.