Arrest made in string of storage unit burglaries

OAKWOOD - Officials with the Oakwood Police Department announced Wednesday the arrest of a suspect in the apparent burglary of several area storage units.

According to Investigator Danny Sridej, 44-year-old Daniel Junior Blackwell of Dahlonega has been charged with five counts of Burglary in the 2nd Degree following the department's investigation into thefts from two storage facility locations.

Blackwell is accused in a string of burglaries that took place this year between September and December.

Sridej said that during the course of their investigation it was discovered that Blackwell had pawned and traded some of the stolen material, as well as transported other pieces of property to Lumpkin County.

Blackwell was arrested Saturday at a road block in Lumpkin County while driving a red 1994 Ford Ranger pickup truck that was loaded with stolen items.

A majority of the stolen property found in Blackwell's truck was taken from storage units in Flowery Branch; that property was turned over to the Flowery Branch Police Department. The material that was previously transported to Lumpkin County was later recovered and turned over to the Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office.

Sridej added that Blackwell is also a suspect or person of interest in cases out of Hall and Jackson Counties. In Hall County, recent burglary cases have been linked to Blackwell and his vehicle, while Jackson County authorities have issued eleven felony warrants for Blackwell's arrest after he became a prime suspect in the burglary of a local self-storage facility.

Sridej encourages anyone in possession of a storage unit that was burglarized between September and December of this year to contact their local law enforcement agency.