Two men were arrested Tuesday afternoon when a watchful neighbor called police, solving not one, but two break-ins.

Deputies responded to a call of an alarm going off around 2:30 p.m. on Oak Hill Drive. When they arrived, the back door was open and an Xbox 360, two controllers and two games for the system were missing.

About 15 minutes later there was a call from a woman about suspicious activity at a home on Glen Echo Drive — just a short drive away from the Oak Hill address that had been burglarized. She told deputies that two black males had been sitting in the cul-de-sac and that they rang her doorbell several times, then went around to the back of her home and jiggled the handle there as if trying to enter the home. She said they ran off, but was able to give deputies a description of them and their vehicle.

Deputies pulled over the vehicle shortly afterwards and was able to get a positive ID on both men inside by the woman on Echo Drive. Inside their vehicle was the missing Xbox, games and controllers taken at the house earlier that day.

Both men, later identified as Diante Reynolds, 20, and Robert Rankins, 18, were arrested. Reynolds was charged with burglary, criminal trespass, theft by taking, criminal attempt to commit burglary and furnishing weapons to persons under 21. Rankins was charged with burglary, criminal attempt to commit burglary and criminal trespass. Both were transported to the Newton County Jail.

Back yard creeper
A Newborn teen was arrested after reportedly attempting to burglarize a house in Newton County Tuesday.

Deputies were called by the victim who told them when she awoke around 7:30 a.m., her power was off. She heard a noise and looked outside which is when she reportedly noticed 18-year-old Tyler Mitchell wearing light blue latex gloves, a knit hat, jeans and a dark shirt in her backyard.

The woman attempted to take his picture with her phone, and moved into another room to get a better shot. Mitchell then saw her and ran off, according to Newton County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Cortney Morrison.

Deputies were able to locate Mitchell shortly after the victim called for help. He was charged with criminal attempt to commit burglary, criminal trespass, loitering and prowling and possession of tools during the commission of a crime.
The victim did have an alarm and a sign in her front yard alerting would-be intruders to that fact, but when Mitchell allegedly cut her power, that disabled the alarm.