Snellville police warn residents about armed car break-ins
Search continues for 'tactical' car thief's in Snellville, police say
Snellville police say they are searching for thieves who were caught on camera breaking into unlocked cars. Officials say that the criminals used a lookout tactic, where one suspect is considered the "armed lookout man" and the other checks the vehicles.
SNELLVILLE, Ga. - Police in Snellville are searching for a couple of car break-in suspects who investigators said have taken the crime to a dangerous level.
One of the most common crimes recently is when a crook flips a door handle to try to gain access to what is inside, but in a series of car break-ins in Snellville, it also included a gun.
(Snellville Police Department)
The vehicles belonging to Corey Jackson and his family were the target of the two people, described as "criminals" by Snellville police. On the Jacksons' home surveillance video, one of the crooks can be seen carrying a pistol.
"The one suspect clearly has a semi-automatic pistol in his right hand," Snellville Police Detective Lt. Jeff Manley. "I certainly wouldn’t recommend confronting them, although it’s a person’s property. They don’t have the right to come on to your property to steal from you armed or not, so someone probably is going to get hurt one way or another."
(Snellville Police Department)
Lt. Manley said his department is checking with other jurisdictions to see if the same two have been busy in other parts of metro Atlanta. He said at least two different locations on Newton Crest Circle were targets of the burglars, where the armed person is the lookout. He said other agencies statewide have seen similar crimes.
"I’ve seen it all over the state, not just here. I don’t believe it’s the same crew, I think there are several groups of people doing this, using the same exact method," said Lt. Manley.
(Snellville Police Department)
The victims who spoke to FOX 5 said the crooks got away with just a few dollars in change. Police advise motorists to lock their vehicles always and not leave weapons in them.