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'Attic burglars' strike in Gwinnett County
Gwinnett County police say three men are accused of breaking into apartments at a complex along Graves Road near Norcross. How they investigators say they got inside.
NORCROSS, Ga. - Two men are behind bars and a third is on the run after a string of what police call "attic burglaries" in Gwinnett County. The most recent happened on Graves Road NW in Norcross. The police need help finding that third suspect.
Police say the modus operandi is the same each time. Crooks break in through the attic of an apartment building. They punch a hole through the ceiling of an apartment, then ransack the place.
Isberto Juarez knew crime could break out anywhere. He just didn’t think crooks would break into his home. "He was surprised it happened in his home," Juarez said through an interpreter. "He’s bothered, he’s a little upset."
Gwinnett County police say on May 16 criminals burglarized Juarez’s apartment on Forest Vale Way in Norcross. "They came into the room, and they got a lot of things that they weren’t of much value, but they did have value to them," Juarez’s interpreter said.
Police tell FOX 5 the same crew also broke in at the Elliot Apartments on Graves Road NW on June 3. Investigators released body cam video from that incident of where they got in. "The suspect or suspects entered the apartment through a mutual attic space in the hallway of the apartment building. They moved the board over, they climbed some type of ladder," said Cpl. Juan Madiedo.
The crooks then made their way into that unit. "They went over to the went over to the victim’s apartment, and they broke a hole through the ceiling and went into the apartment," Madiedo said.
Police also released doorbell-camera video of two guys walking out of an apartment at the Elliot. "They ransacked the apartment. They ended up taking about $10,000 in cash, some jewelry and other items of value," Madiedo said.
Officers arrested Martin Lorenzo Lopez Altamirano the same day, not far from the break in on June 3rd. They picked up Juan Carlos Carranza-Matamoros the next day. Investigators are looking for a third suspect, Eduardo Jose Aviles. "He’s been identified in other incidents around that particular area," Madiedo said.
Juarez worries, what if the crooks strike again? "It feels like a post-traumatic syndrome or a post-traumatic worry that somebody’s going to come in and take more things," the interpreter said.
Altamirano is charged with criminal trespass and conspiracy to commit burglary. Matamoros is charged with obstruction. They’re both locked up at the Gwinnet County jail. Contact the police if you have information on Aviles.