GAINESVILLE - Metal theft is quickly becoming the most popular property crime across north Georgia, according to a spokesman with the Hall County Sheriff's Office, and a Gainesville man was arrested this week in the latest metal theft incident.
Hall County Sheriff's Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks said the incident occurred Thursday afternoon at a home on Bell Lane. The alleged thief knocked on the door of the house. The homeowner told authorities she didn't answer because she didn't recognize the man at her door.
"She then observed the male subject back his pick-up truck up to the house where he loaded a stainless steel gas grill, metal chairs, a weight lifting set and a pair of steel bed rails," said Wilbanks.
The homeowner called authorities, but Wilbanks said 37-year-old Robert Wayne Brownlee, Jr. of Gainesville had already taken the stolen items to a recycler by the time they caught up with him.
Wilbanks said the items, valued at around $800, had already been crushed for recycling.
Brownlee has been charged with felony theft.
Wednesday
August 27th, 2025
11:18PM
