Thieves have not been particularly picky recently in Newton County and Covington as they have made off with a variety of electronics, a pair of toenail clippers, sneakers and even electric shopping carts.
A victim on Oak Meadows Place had her house forcibly entered Wednesday while she was at work. When she returned home her laptop and digital camera were reportedly missing.
Two days later, two residences on Tew Lane were burglarized within minutes of each other. The first victim reported an Xbox and a Playstation 2 missing from the residence while the second victim reported a Nintendo Gamecube as having been taken.
The point of entry for each location appeared to be the back door where there was recent damage to the weather stripping. CPD officers suspect a card of some sort was used to pop the doors' locks.
According to The Covington Police Department public information log, one of the victims believed a group of teenagers who roam the neighborhood were responsible for the break-in.
Also on Friday, Kathleen Lyons was arrested for attempting to steal toenail clippers from Georgia Foot and Ankle.
After cutting Lyons' toenails, a Georgia Foot and Ankle employee left the room but reportedly heard Lyons retrieve the Moore Medical clippers from their storage space. The employee reentered the room and fond the $100 pair of clippers missing.
Lyons reportedly denied taking the item and the employee reported the matter to the business' owner who contacted the CPD.
When CPD officers arrived, Lyons reportedly told them to search her and her purse because she had nothing to hide. After the search turned up no clippers, Lyons was asked to move from her position on the examination table.
The CPD officers were then able to locate the missing clippers which Lyons had hidden under her own body.
Lyons was then arrested and transported to the Newton County Detention Center where she was charged with theft by taking.
The following day, two men were arrested for shoplifting and criminal trespass for stealing footwear from the Shoe Department.
An employee called the CPD after noticing two black men taking shoes from boxes and switching them around to other boxes in the store.
Upon arrival at the store, CPD Officer David Stewart observed one of the men exit the Shoe Department before ducking into the Hallmark next door.
After making contact with the suspect, later identified as Brandon Roomes, Stewart reportedly noticed a large bulge in the front of the man's pants at the waistband. A quick search of the suspect revealed a pair of white Reebok sneakers hidden in the man's pants.
A second suspect, Floyd Henry, was arrested a short time later wearing a pair of white Nike sneakers. After returning to the Shoe Department, Stewart was able to determine the sneakers in the men's possession matched the description of those that had been stolen.
Later on Saturday, Jason Mitchell was arrested on charges of entering an auto and theft from a motor vehicle.
Mitchell was arrested in the Kmart parking lot after CPD officers found him lurking with a tire iron.
Officers approached Mitchell while he was looking inside a green car that did not belong to him.
At first, Mitchell reportedly claimed he had mistaken the car for his own blue car, but the officers did not buy his story. After reportedly being caught in several lies, Mitchell admitted to the officers that he was looking for something to steal from inside the car and that he had already stolen a DVD player and a stereo system from the trunk.
Also on Saturday night, three black men reportedly sped off with three Publix electric shopping carts down Brown Bridge Road. The carts were later recovered after the joyride, but the suspects were nowhere to be found.
Anyone with information about the unsolved thefts is asked to call the CPD at 770-786-7605. Tips can be given to the CPD anonymously by visiting their Web site at www.covingtonpolice.com and clicking on "contact us" and then "secret witness."
