By Nicole Burns
Gwinnett County police officers received a call about a residential burglary on December 15, 2018, in the 200 block of Murphy Street in Buford. The victim stated that at around 8:50 a.m. on the 15th, he left his residence to go watch his nephew’s basketball game. When he returned home at around 10 a.m., he went to go work in his garage and noticed the hatch lock had been pried open and the door to the garage was opened slightly. Upon investigating, the victim realized his shop vac, three power tools saws, three drill bit kits, three screwdriver kits, tool carrier, and tool belt were all missing.
The victim told officers that his neighbor noticed a “white panel van with ladders on top” parked across from the victim’s residence earlier in the morning. According to the report, an unnamed male approached officers and gave them a possible suspect and their address. The officers drove by the possible suspect’s home and did not notice the van or anyone in the driveway. The report ended there with no further action or possible suspects.
On December 31, 2018, Gwinnett County Police Department responded to a call in the 5600 block of Cole Road in Buford about a stolen trailer. Police spoke with a resident who said his business partner’s construction trailer was stolen out of the yard of a house they were building a few doors down from his residence. The business partner was out of town at the time of the crime.
The resident said that he had video footage showing the suspect vehicle captured by his Ring doorbell. Police reviewed footage of the van but due to the graininess of the video, police were only able to confirm that it was a white van. No other discernible features could be identified. The trailer is a black 2018 COTC – Carry-On Trailer Corp. model # 6X12DUMP, VIN 4YMBD1227JG078363. The trailer had a Georgia license plate # TS64S77.
Residents should be vigilant and be aware of who belongs in your neighborhood and who doesn’t. Make a mental note of any suspicious vehicles or people. Watch out for your neighbor’s property and if you see a crime take place, call 9-1-1.
If you have any information about either of the crimes mentioned in this article, please contact GCPD detectives at 770-513-5300. To remain anonymous, tipsters should contact Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or visit www.crimestoppersatlanta.org. The case number for the December 15th incident is 18-116229 and for the December 31st trailer theft, it is 18-121068.
