Charges continue to mount against a group of Villa Rica and Tallapoosa teenagers in connection with a rash of burglaries earlier this month resulting in more than $15,000 in stolen property and damages for victims.

Carroll County sheriff’s Capt. Shane Taylor said four teenagers - including three between the ages of 15 and 16, have been charged following an alleged crime spree that left nine homes burglarized and eight vehicles broken into in the north end of the county near Villa Rica between Feb. 2 and 17.

Since the arrests of David Campbell, 19, of Tallapoosa, and a 16-year-old Villa Rica boy last week, who were both charged with five counts of burglary and one count of misdemeanor possession of marijuana, sheriff’s investigators have linked the teens two additional thefts in the area and apprehended two more 15-year-old boys from Villa Rica.

Taylor said Campbell was charged with four more burglaries since his initial arrest, and the 16-year-old was charged with an additional count of burglary and eight counts of entering an automobile.

Deputies charged one of the 15-year-old boys with one count of burglary and eight counts of entering an automobile and the other boy was charged with five counts of burglary, according to authorities.

Taylor said the thefts began with the teens entering unlocked vehicles off of highways 101 and 61 north of Villa Rica before progressing to kicking in doors to houses in the same area - primarily during the early evening hours.

At least two women with young children were at home when they heard the teens allegedly break into their homes, and deputies said the woman quickly called 911 and the teens fled without confronting the women or children or stealing anything from those houses.

More than $5,000 in property stolen during the burglaries and thefts has been recovered from Campbell’s Pontiac Grand Am, which was seen by several witnesses in the areas where the teens had allegedly burglarized homes, according to Taylor.

The first two suspects, Campbell and the 16-year-old boy, were taken into custody after a passerby called 911 to report the Grand Am the teens were in was driving north of Temple near Interstate 20 with its lights off.

Taylor said the two 15-year-olds were identified as suspects in the burglaries and car break-ins late last week as investigators continued to follow up on leads and information in the cases.

At this point, Taylor said some jewelry, movies, clothing, computers and gaming systems taken during the thefts have been recovered, and deputies continue to search for additional stolen property.

Deputies said it is believed some of the stolen property had been traded for illegal drugs by the teens.

Authorities said Campbell remains in the Carroll County jail without bond, the 16-year-old boy was taken to the Paulding County Youth Detention Center, and the two 15-year-olds were released into the custody of their parents.