Published Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Chatt-Hills makes three arrests in alleged theft ring

The Times-Herald

Three suspects, Reshard Dominque Harris, 18, of Atlanta, Brandon Lee Pettis, 20, of Palmetto, and a juvenile male, also of Atlanta, were arrested by City of Chattahoochee Hills police officers and are alleged to be responsible for four of five daytime burglaries in the area occurring over a two-month period.

They are charged with one count each of burglary and aggravated cruelty to animals. Additional charges are pending, according to arresting officer Larry Knowles.

"We got taped confessions on four break-ins occurring within the last 60 days," said Knowles. "We recovered all of the stolen property from the Aug. 14 burglary, one firearm, and we're still working on the property from the other burglaries."

The suspects were apprehended about noon Aug. 15 after they were seen speeding down a dirt road in a pick-up truck two minutes away from the scene of a burglary in the south Fulton city.

Chattahoochee Hills Public Safety Director Larry Parrott was driving along the same dirt road when the suspects nearly hit him. He phoned in a report of an erratic driver over the radio, and Officers Larry Knowles and Donnie McBee responded as Parrott was pulling the vehicle over.

As Knowles approached the vehicle, the occupants appeared nervous. Knowles observed a lawn mower, a tiller, a string weed trimmer, a computer, and a PS2 game system in the rear of the vehicle.

"We separated the three occupants to ask questions, and all three related different stories," said Knowles, who then obtained permission from the driver to search the vehicle. "We found a loaded shotgun, a loaded .22, and a loaded .380 pistol believed to have been taken from one of the suspect's parents' home without permission," said Knowles. The vehicle the suspects were driving was also taken from one of the suspect's parents without permission, he said.

"While searching the vehicle, we also found a small drawer containing jewelry, with an estimated value of $200 to $300, and a checkbook bearing the name of a Chattahoochee Hill Country resident" who lived in close proximity to the dirt road on which the initial traffic stop was made, Knowles said.

None of the suspects were carrying ID at the time of the stop. When officers were dispatched to the nearby residence, they found the home had been burglarized, and the resident's two dogs had been shot and killed.

When the officers returned to further question the suspects, one asked to speak to Knowles privately. "A second did the same thing and admitted that they had done all four of the recent burglaries," said Knowles, referring to the four most recent burglaries, occurring within a two-week period leading up to the Aug. 14 arrests.

Harris and Pettis were processed into the South Fulton Municipal Regional Jail in Union City on Aug. 14. They were transferred to the Fulton County Jail on Aug. 17. The juvenile was released into the custody of his parents.

According to Knowles, Harris and Pettis are scheduled to appear in Fulton County Superior Court on Friday for arraignment.

One of the four burglaries was reported on Old Rico Road, one on Atlanta-Newnan Highway, one on Vernon Grove, and the fourth occurred on Campbellton-Redwine Road.

"It solved nearly every burglary in Chattahoochee Hills," said Knowles. "We were also able to recover some of the property from the other burglaries."

Union City Criminal Investigations Division responded for crime scene investigation, and the Palmetto Police Department assisted with interviews. The Fulton County Sheriff's Department also responded. Donnie McBee and Larry Knowles, who also serves as the Chattahoochee Hills fire chief and public safety information officer, were the arresting officers for the City of Chattahoochee Hills Police Department.