It played out just like an old “Law & Order” episode.
A recent case that combined solid police work with some not-too-bright criminals led to Henry County Police Department Officer Sean Ross being named the department’s North Precinct Officer of the Month for September. The announcement was made October 21 and posted on the department’s Facebook page.
Ross answered a call September 24 and was dispatched to 5125 East Lake Parkway, the site of a Henry County Water Authority decommissioned wastewater facility that is also near a Clayton County reservoir. Police were called by an HCWA employee who witnessed a copper theft.
According to the report, two white males in a red Jeep Cherokee were seen pulling copper from a manhole by using a winch. Both suspects left the scene before police arrived.
The Jeep was located later that day, not far from the site of the theft, at an address on Arbor Way in McDonough, just off Brannan Road and Hwy. 42. It was parked in the driveway of a house, and when police found it they could see that the stolen copper was still inside the vehicle. The Jeep’s tag was connected to an address in Jonesboro.
The owners of the home, when contacted, revealed that they were not even aware of the vehicle being in their driveway. But one of the master criminals was found inside the house, upstairs in the bedroom of the homeowners’ daughter. Once he was found, the witness to the theft was contacted and brought to the house for what police called a “show-up” with the suspect. The witness positively identified the Jeep and the suspect right then and there.
The second suspect was still being sought by police as of the October 21 report.
Copper theft is a big problem for commercial and industrial facilities around the country, as it can be transported and sold by the pound without being traced easily. “It is valuable,” said HCWA general manager Lindy Farmer, whose staff has implemented video surveillance at some facilities to combat this problem.
Farmer praised the HCPD for its prompt response and continued efforts to help keep these thefts from happening.
Ross was recognized for his “thorough follow-up investigation” that resulted in one of the suspects being arrested and charged the same day the theft occurred.
