COVINGTON, Georgia – Sheriff’s agents investigated this week after thieves worked early Saturday morning to steal three vehicles and steal numerous valuables from unlocked cars and trucks in neighborhoods across Newton County.
Thieves stole a car and two SUVs and entered unlocked vehicles to take away items from a gun to wallets with credit cards.
A man in Port Orange, Florida told a MP that sometime early Saturday, someone took the man’s $ 20,000 Jaguar XJL from the driveway of an apartment building he was visiting on Milton Drive.
Items inside the vehicle included two Dell laptop computers, a Louis Vuitton wallet, a pair of Air Jordan shoes and golf shoes, and a set of Callaway golf clubs.
“The complainant stated that he was not sure whether it was locked or not, but that he had the key in his pocket. He also stated that he and his wife came to their friend’s house from Florida late that evening.” the report says.
“There were video cameras in the apartment, but they could not operate them and do not know whether they are working at all,” said the MP.
In another incident, a woman told a MP on Saturday morning that her white GMC Terrain SUV was missing from the driveway of an apartment building on Saddle Lane, south Newton.
She told a MP she last saw the vehicle around 10 p.m. on Friday, the report said.
“The victim claimed to have rushed into the house and left the vehicle (unlocked) with her wallet and cell phone in the vehicle. The victim stated that her car key was in her wallet along with other identification documents. The victim gave of forgetting to go back to secure the vehicle, “the report said.
The deputy also reported that the SUV theft victim said she canceled her debit and credit cards and noticed a transaction for $ 24.75 that was conducted at a BP gas station in Decatur around 5 a.m. on Saturday
The victim also stated that someone tried to use the card at a McDonald’s restaurant in Ellenwood around 6 a.m., but Capital One “had the card already marked,” the report said.
Meanwhile, a neighbor of the SUV theft victim on Saddle Lane reached out to the deputy to reveal video footage of two men wearing gloves getting out of a black four-door sedan at around 4 a.m. on Saturday
The video showed the men approaching the (neighboring) vehicle with a flashlight around 4am on Saturday, but “the two male suspects retreated into the limo after discovering there were no valuables in the vehicle . “
The neighbor did not ask for a report as nothing was damaged or taken away. but the MP asked for a copy of the video “for further investigation”.
At the same point in another incident, a woman told a MP that someone stepped into her Jeep Cherokee and stole her daughter’s wallet from the center console, which contained a driver’s license, prepaid debit card, and about $ 5 in cash.
“The complainant stated that she had been informed of similar incidents by other neighbors around noon and discovered the driver’s door ajar when checking the vehicle. The complainant stated that she could not remember whether the door was locked. “
In another part of the county, a vehicle was reported stolen from a residential building on Alison Trail near Dixie Road in east Newton.
The victim said the family’s Ford Expedition SUV was stolen from their property around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday. The vehicle also had a $ 300 iPhone 11 and a $ 50 baby car seat, a report said.
In the same area of East Newton, a man reported that a $ 530 Glock G43 semi-automatic pistol was stolen from his Ford F250 truck sometime between 8 p.m. Friday and 4:30 a.m. Saturday Clock was parked in an apartment building on Anna Road
And nearby on Oakridge Drive, a woman told a MP she left a 2016 Nissan Rogue unlocked and a wallet of notepads with personal passwords, credit cards, a Gizno watch, and vehicle keys was left sometime between 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday 8 p.m. stolen 10:40 a.m.
“The complainant stated that several credit cards were missing, but could not specify a type at the time. The complainant did not have a surveillance system on site.”
She also stated that her American Express card had a pending transaction of $ 200 for a transaction in Decatur near the Flat Shoals Road area.