Atlanta car break-in suspects appear in court
ATLANTA - The three suspects who were arrested Thursday in connection with a string of car break-ins in the Atlanta area earlier this week had their first court appearance on Friday.
According to investigators, officers met in the 1700 block of Northside Drive around 2:45 a.m. Thursday to patrol the area after more than a dozen vehicles were broken into in a parking deck there the day before. It was one of several big car break-in in Buckhead this week.
Officers witnessed three males get out of a stolen black car and leave the parking deck. They have been charged with theft by receiving stolen auto. Police said there were several items inside the vehicle that may have been stolen from other cars. Officers said they located two vehicles with windows broken out on the same level of the parking deck, but they are working to determine if they were broken into during Wednesday's break-in or if they had just occurred.
The suspects have been identified as 18-year-old Jordan Watkins and 23-year-old Jarquez Scott (picture of previous mugshot included in photo gallery). The third suspect is a juvenile.
Over the last 28 days police said thieves have worked Atlanta and close-in suburban locations vandalizing 100 cars. The Buckhead commander has put together directed patrolers and undercover officers to rotate in and out of a dozen housing complexes where thieves have struck before.
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Jeffrey Reynolds' girlfriend discovered someone had smashed in a window of her rental car at about 6 Wednesday morning.
"They have great security for actual residents but because this is a rental car we can't park in our actual parking spaces," Reynolds said.
Her vehicle and 13 others were targeted in the parking deck which serves some residents and guests at the Berkley Heights Apartment Complex as well as retail shops on Northside Drive in Buckhead.
Property management told FOX 5 News they are working closely with law enforcement officials and residents in the investigation saying quote: "We find it unfortunate that there are individuals who believe they have a right to damage other people's property. We are thankful that none of our residents were hurt during this unfortunate incident."
Atlanta Police confirm thieves broke into more than 40 cars at four separate apartment complexes in Buckhead Tuesday morning. Jack Shaw, one of the victims said, "They are definitely not amateurs. Forty cars - that's a lot of belongings that have gone missing."
The break-ins happened between 1:50 and 3:10 a.m. Tuesday. According to police, about 30 break-ins took place on 1 Biscayne Drive, two in the 2600 block of Peachtree Street and seven in the 200 block of Pharr Road. Thieves also broke into cars at the Reserve Collier Hills Complex on Collier Road.
Police report seven big car break-ins committed in the city overnight and believe they may have all been committed by one group. Thieves moved quickly ransacking cars, making off with phones, laptops and other valuables. Deputy Chief Joseph Spillane said, "Very quickly in and out smashing windows grabbing anything they could see from the outside of the car and then quickly leaving and going to another location."
Police said three vehicles are possibly involved, including a gold Honda CRV, a black SUV and a gray van. The number of suspects is unknown at this time, but Deputy Chief Spillane says investigators gathered a lot of evidence. "Right now we have several lookouts, several cars we are looking at. We also have blood evidence from the scene from one of them it will be taken to the GBI for a match to see if they have ever been in prison. We've also recovered fingerprints which we will be working through with our ID section... there are also several videos from several different locations that we will be looking at."