Atlanta police are searching for four suspects accused of burglarizing a business on McDonough Boulevard SE, where three men carrying what appeared to be a cutting device broke in, sliced open a safe, and escaped with multiple cartons of cigarettes while a fourth man waited behind the wheel of a silver sedan. Officers responded to the burglary report around 3:45 a.m. on August 24, and no arrests have been made as the investigation continues.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, the four suspects included three people who entered the business and a driver who stayed in the getaway car on the 800 block of McDonough Boulevard SE. Three of the men used the cutting device to break into the safe before all four fled together in the sedan, per the outlet's report citing the Atlanta Police Department. The burglary sits within Atlanta Police Department Zone 3, a precinct headquartered on Metropolitan Parkway that covers Southeast Atlanta neighborhoods including Thomasville Heights, Lakewood Heights, Chosewood Park, and South Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Police Department.
A Pattern Emerging Along the Same Corridor
The August 24 break-in is not an isolated incident on this stretch of road. Atlanta police responded around 2 a.m. on August 31 to another gas station burglary on McDonough Boulevard SE, where thieves shattered a glass door and made off with cigarettes, blunt paper, lottery tickets, and cash from the register, the same FOX 5 Atlanta report notes. Days earlier, police also investigated a predawn break-in at a Texaco on the same street around 3 a.m., where suspects again stole cigarettes, lottery tickets, and cash from the register, as reported by Crime-Watch-Atlanta and Atlanta News First.
It remains an open question whether the same four-person crew tied to the silver sedan was involved in the later break-ins along the corridor, and police have not said whether surveillance footage from neighboring businesses has been recovered. The 800 block has a documented history of commercial crime targeting tobacco and cash. In June 2023, the Atlanta Police Department investigated a commercial robbery at the Texaco gas station at 808 McDonough Boulevard SE, in which suspects physically assaulted an employee before stealing tobacco goods, the store safe, and cash box money. That same month, an armed robbery at an Exxon gas station at 840 McDonough Boulevard SE resulted in nearly $7,000 stolen from the store owner at gunpoint, with the clerk forced into a bathroom, according to WSB-TV.
Why Cigarettes Keep Disappearing First
Security industry analysts say convenience and liquor stores remain frequent targets for these kinds of break-ins because items like cigarettes, lottery tickets, and alcohol can be resold quickly on the black market, according to Vector Security. The use of a cutting device to open a safe, rather than simply grabbing what was visible on shelves, points toward a more organized operation than a spontaneous break-in.
Under Georgia law, entering a non-dwelling commercial building with intent to commit theft is charged as burglary in the second degree, a felony carrying one to five years in prison for a first conviction and up to eight years for repeat offenders, per FindLaw. If prosecutors determine that suspects caused more than $500 in property damage during a break-in, charges can be elevated to smash-and-grab burglary, a felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and fines up to $100,000. Whether the safe-cutting on McDonough Boulevard SE meets that damage threshold has not been publicly addressed by police.
How to Report Information
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS (8477), through stopcrimeatl.org, or by texting CSGA. Tipsters may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000 and are assigned a unique tip number and password so their identity is never exposed, with reward funds supported by private donations and community events such as the annual Atlanta's Finest 5K, organized with the Atlanta Police Foundation. Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta receives roughly 50 anonymous tips daily across 168 participating Georgia law enforcement agencies, resulting in seven to 10 cash reward payouts each month, according to 11Alive.
