COVINGTON, Ga. — Police say they believe two Covington teens were among a group that entered and stole from vehicles countywide earlier this month.
Tremayne Hill, 18, and Mekhi Nickols, 18, both of Nixon Circle in Covington, were being held in the Newton County Detention Center Thursday on charges related to a rash of thefts from vehicles inside the city.
Nickols is charged with 19 counts of entering vehicles with intent to commit theft, and one count of stealing a vehicle. He was being held without bond. Hill is charged with two counts of entering vehicles with intent to commit theft.
More charges are possible for allegedly doing the same crimes, said spokesman Capt. Ken Malcom.
Malcom said Covington Police Officer Wesley Couch observed two individuals at the intersection of Floyd and Mill streets wearing all black clothing Sunday, Sept. 19, at about 3 a.m. Couch conducted field interviews with the two individuals and one, Hill, was arrested on a charge of giving a false name, .
“The second subject was positively identified by officers as Mekhi Nickols,” Malcom said. “These two individuals matched the description of the individuals who entered approximately 35 vehicles in the city limits and [several other] vehicles outside the city limits in recent days.”
Covington Detectives Sgt. Slade McCullough, Julie English and Mark Joyner continued the investigation and determined that Hill and Nickols were among a group involved in a recent rash of thefts that included a Ford Edge earlier this month.
Hill and Nickols were being held in the Newton County Detention Center on the charges.
“This is an ongoing investigation and additional charges are expected,” Malcom said.
He said other agencies were investigating Entering Auto cases outside the city limits.
Nickols and Hill are accused of being connected with a series of vehicle thefts and burglaries in and near one Covington neighborhood during the three-day Labor Day weekend.
Four vehicles were stolen and 12 vehicles entered during the weekend earlier this month, Malcom said.
He said police recovered two of the four stolen vehicles, including a Chevrolet Silverado stolen from Ashley Drive and the Ford Edge stolen from Dearing Street, in the Covington Housing Authority apartment complex on Alcovy Street.
At least three offenders walked through Covington Place and nearby neighborhoods where they entered several unlocked vehicles and took a variety of items of value. All appeared to be young males and “possibly teenagers,” Malcom said.
This article has been updated to reflect the correct total of vehicle burglaries reported countywide in September.