A high-speed chase through Tucker ended with a wreck, a dumpster hideout and three suspects in cuffs, as DeKalb County police say they cracked a crew tied to nearly two dozen business break-ins across DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.
Investigators say the group was riding in a stolen vehicle on Tuesday when a pursuit on Hugh Howell Road came to a crashing halt. Officers recovered firearms at the scene and are now working to match the trio to a growing list of targeted businesses and figure out exactly what was taken.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, the suspects are 23-year-old Avante Green-Coley, 17-year-old Onario Watson and an unnamed 15-year-old. FOX 5 Atlanta reports Green-Coley faces charges of burglary, theft-by-receiving a motor vehicle, theft-by-receiving a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, while Watson and the juvenile are each facing multiple counts of burglary.
Where the hits happened
Per the DeKalb County Police Department, the burglary spree officially kicked off on June 18, when officers logged an initial wave of 14 commercial break-ins. Those early hits were clustered at shopping plazas along Mall Parkway, Covington Highway and S. Hairston Road.
Investigators say the pattern did not stay put. A later wave of burglaries popped up in neighboring Gwinnett County, with seven more businesses reportedly targeted along Lawrenceville Highway, Northlake Parkway and DeKalb Industrial Way, according to the DeKalb County Police Department. In all, police are tying 24 commercial burglaries to the same crew.
The pursuit and arrests
FOX 5 Atlanta reported that a DeKalb patrol officer first spotted the suspect vehicle near Briarcliff Road and LaVista Road. When the officer moved in, the driver hit the gas and led police on a chase through Tucker.
During the pursuit, officers said they saw occupants tossing cash register tills and other stolen items out of the moving car, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. The car eventually struck a curb on Hugh Howell Road, ending the chase. All three suspects ran, but officers quickly tracked them down, with two of them found hiding inside a dumpster.
Guns, stolen car and next steps
Police say they recovered three firearms and later confirmed that both the vehicle and at least one of the handguns were stolen. Green-Coley is facing the theft-related and firearm charges, while Watson and the 15-year-old are charged with multiple counts of burglary, according to the DeKalb County Police Department.
Detectives say the investigation is still very much active, and more charges are expected as they sort through surveillance footage, business reports and the trail of discarded evidence.
