Clarkesville police are continuing their investigation into a recent crime wave in the area – one they believe may have been committed by one man.
That crime wave includes close to a dozen incidents, but thankfully none of them has been violent so far.
Investigators from both Clarkesville and Habersham County have been extremely busy for the past week or so said Clarkesville Police Chief Brad Barrett.
“We probably had a half a dozen entering autos within about a week and we've had multiple stolen vehicles some burglaries entering place of businesses waiting suspect it's all being done by the same person,” Barrett said
Barrett said it’s too early to say who that individual might be.
“We're working in conjunction with the sheriff's department,” Barrett said. “Some of it has been in the county. They've had some vehicle stolen from there as well, but it's all been in the Clarkesville area. One of them we found abandoned and he had kind of run off the road and lost some ladders. It was kind of a construction truck. We were able to recover it. We found it in a power line easement between Memorial and Robertson Loop Road and then we found some of the ladders that had come off the truck. We did have a firearm that was taken out of one of the vehicles that was entered into.”
Barrett said it appears most of the incidents so far have been crimes of opportunity.
“Most of the buildings, from what we can tell, there was no forced entry,” Barrett said. “It looks like he found open doors and gained access that way.”
Additionally, Barrett said simply locking vehicles goes a long way to prevent becoming a victim.
“He didn't force his way into the vehicles from what it looks like at this point,” Barrett said. “He was entering them, basically finding unlocked vehicles, and going into them that way. If he could find keys, he would steal the car and if not, he would just take what valuables he could find from it. We've recovered some small items – nothing major.”
Clarkesville police have released some surveillance images of the man believed to be responsible for the thefts, in hopes that someone recognizes the man.
“If somebody recognizes him from the photos that we have, that would be great and if they could ID him, we would keep their information confidential and anonymous,” Barrett said. “And we're asking the public to be vigilant, of course, and to make sure that their cars are locked when they're in public places and if they live in a highly dense neighborhood to make sure that they're keeping them locked and try to keep the valuables out of them. And for sure, don't leave the keys in them – you know, apartment complexes, businesses, and then just like I said, high-density neighborhoods.”
Asked whether the man now apparently possessing a gun after one of the break-ins is reason for concern, Barrett said it likely presents more of a danger to law enforcement than the general public – but added he’s hopeful it will not come into play.
“It does add an element of danger too, of course, with him being armed, something that you know we have to take into consideration,” Barrett said. “But nothing thus far has indicated that he has any violent tendencies, but you never know if he's caught in a situation, you know, what he might do. And a lot of the thefts and burglaries that we see now are often drug related. So, if they're intoxicated by a substance then their mind’s not right.”
Barrett says anyone who sees something suspicious or who becomes a victim should dial 9-1-1 immediately so they can canvass the area.
Anyone with surveillance footage they believe contains criminal activity in Clarkesville is asked to call the police department at (706) 754-5390 or Habersham Dispatch at (706) 778-3911.
