Two North Georgia men were arrested this week in connection to statewide burglaries of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Management Areas.
Parker Lewis Dean, 20, of Braselton was arrested in Barrow County Monday for theft by receiving stolen property as part of the investigation into the WMA thefts; James Arthur Graham, 22, of Lawrenceville was arrested for theft by receiving stolen property in connection to the same crime, according to a press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Natalie Ammons with the GBI said, "It was determined that there were similarities between many of these burglaries which led to the arrest of these two people."
"It seems these individuals went on a burglary spree together targeting certain DNR management wildlife areas all across the state of Georgia," Ammons said, adding that the incidents happened between May and September..
Approximately $50,000 worth of equipment was stolen; the majority of items were recovered after search warrants were executed in Gwinnett and Barrow counties this week.
Initially, the GBI Cleveland Office was requested to conduct an investigation into burglaries at WMAs in Stephens, Dawson and Lumpkin counties in June. Investigators determined other burglaries occurred in Hart, Putnam, Burke, Greene, McDuffie, Bartow, Marion and Dooly counties, both before and during the GBI investigation. The GBI reported the similarities between the burglaries are how investigators tied the pair to all of the thefts.
The pair are thought to also be responsible for a burglary at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge.
Additional charges are expected for both Graham and Dean.
