Covington police responded to the Raceway located on U.S. Highway 278 after receiving a call about shoplifting on Wednesday around 9 p.m. Dispatch informed police that three black men left the store traveling toward Old Atlanta Highway riding bicycles, after one of the males reportedly stole from the store.
Officers searched the area for the males, but could not locate them. A store clerk told police that one of the males entered the store to go to the bathroom and she did not pay much attention until a customer reportedly told her, "she needed to keep her eyes on him."
The store clerk said the incident was captured on video camera. According to the incident report, the video showed a young, skinny black male wearing a white T-shirt with a black design on the front and JOE in black lettering on the back and dark blue jeans entered the store and went to the restroom. The male then went to the cookie aisle, picked up merchandise, walked around out of the view of the camera and appeared to put something in his pants.
When the man walked to the other side of the store, it appeared he adjusted something in his right pants pocket. The store clerk told police that at this time, she approached the male and said she wanted to talk to him, but the male said he could not speak with her and ran out of the store. The clerk ran after the male, who got on a bicycle and rode away with two other black males.
Seek and you shall find
A church employee reported that someone stole money from her purse on Tuesday. A Covington police officer responded to a theft at Baptist Tabernacle Church located on Access Road in reference to a theft on Wednesday. The officer spoke to the church employee who said on Tuesday some time between 10 a.m. and noon, an unknown black female came into the church walked past her while she was in the pastor's officer and down the hallway.
The black female exited the bathroom and the church employee asked if she could help her out, but the woman said she was looking for Bruno properties and just need to use the bathroom. The woman told the officer that she didn't think anything of it until a church official asked her who the female was and she later noticed $120 in cash missing from her pocketbook that was in her backpack behind her desk. No other items were reported missing at the time of the report. The unknown black female was reportedly driving an off white SUV.
Just checking in
A witness told a deputy with the Newton County Sheriff's Office that he noticed a vehicle leave a friend's residence when he checked on their home while they were away. A deputy responded to a call about a burglary at a home located on Paines Crossing Road in Social Circle around 7 a.m. on Wednesday.
The deputy arrived to the home and found the gate to the property open and visible tracks on the wet grass. The deputy spoke to a man who said he had been contacted by the homeowner and asked to come check on the residence. The man said as he was approaching the property, he saw a small white pickup truck leaving. He also noticed items were missing from the two sheds that had been broken into. The man was unsure what exactly was missing.
The deputy requested for the man to have the homeowner to contact the sheriff's office when they returned home. An alarm response was taped to the front door of the home.
