Two men ended up in cuffs after police caught them red-handed at a construction site in Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County police say. The alleged robbers, nabbed in the act on Thursday night, are accused of lifting upwards of $4,000 in roofing shingles.
The suspects, Elvin Palma Cruz, 27, and Luis Palma Reyes, 31, likely thought they'd made a clean getaway until a vigilant security firm, monitoring the site remotely, flagged a "suspicious truck and trailer." Police responded to the call at about 10:30 p.m. at the site located on Old Peachtree Road, according to Atlanta News First.
The duo, upon spotting law enforcement made a break for it, but their freedom was short-lived. Cruz was swiftly apprehended by officers on the scene; Reyes, on the other hand,, required the persuasive track of a police K9 and the watchful eye of the Aviation Unit before he too was placed under arrest, as documented by AccessWDUN.
"The Gwinnett County Police Department is committed to investigating crimes and arresting those responsible," the department stated through a press release. Emphasizing the use of "all available technology to identify, locate, and apprehend those responsible for property crimes." Both suspects are now facing a raft of charges, including theft by taking, loitering and prowling, possession of tools for the commission of a crime, amongst others.
The arrests highlight the ongoing collaboration between law enforcement and businesses in safeguarding the local economy. The Gwinnett County Police assured that "businesses play a vital role in our local economy, and their security is integral to the well-being of our county." As community members, and as readers, we bear witness to the very framework that seeks to preserve our collective security - from the vigilant monitoring by a security company to the swift and decisive actions of the local police.
