Several homes in the Cross Creek area of Villa Rica had been plagued by burglaries.
“Right now we’ve got the suspects for six burglaries in the area,” said Villa Rica Police Capt. Keith Shaddix. “They may be involved in more.”
The two suspects were charged with six counts of burglary. One of the suspects was a 15-year-old and the other was identified as Allen Shelton, 17, of Cross Creek Court in Villa Rica.
The 15-year-old was being held at the Paulding County Youth Detention Center, and Shelton was being held at the Carroll County jail. Detectives are still sorting through the evidence to identify the owners of the stolen items.
Two of the items were firearms, which Shelton admitted to stealing, but no reports of stolen firearms have surfaced, Shaddix said. He said that anyone who is the victim of a theft of a firearm and has not reported it should contact Det. Chris Bertera at 678-840-1320.
Shaddix thanked Bertera and Det. Lynn Seagraves for their work in solving the burglaries.
Burglaries and theft tend to pick up during the Christmas shopping season and stay high until mid-January.
“We had a series of burglaries in the summer,” said Shaddix. “They kicked back up in late September. October and November were terrible. They always go up this time of year.”
Shaddix said the most commonly stolen items are electronics, firearms and jewelry. One key when stolen items are found by police is whether or not the rightful owner wrote down details about their belongings.
“With firearms, write down what make and model it is, the serial number and other notes,” he said. “Those things help when something is reported stolen. If we don’t have that information it can be hard for our reports to match up. Take pictures of your jewelry so it will be easier to identify. Using a picture is a lot better than saying, ‘I have a gold ring with a diamond on it.’”
Regarding electronics, Shaddix advised to write down exactly what kind of television you own, for example, and how big the screen is. Other tips include carving your name into electronic devices avoiding social media when going on a vacation.
“You shouldn’t go on Facebook and announce to the world, ‘I’m leaving and we’ll be gone for a week,’” Shaddix said. “We had a case this summer where someone did that. They said they were in Florida and would be there for a week, and one of their Facebook friends burglarized the house.”
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