Burglars cut through the wire-mesh ceilings of storage units on Powers Ferry Road in Cobb County, making off with designer clothing, antique firearms, artwork, antique coins, World War II-era guns and samurai swords believed to be 200 to 300 years old. Police have arrested one suspect, Joseph Robinson, while a second man, Richard Lawson, remains on the run.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, thieves broke into individual units by cutting through the wire mesh ceilings that separate one storage space from another. The station reports the centuries-old swords were among the rarest items taken, alongside antique coins and firearms dating to the Second World War.
The following week, the same suspects allegedly struck again, this time at a facility on South Cobb Drive, the station's report notes. There, two men were seen loading roughly $35,000 worth of stolen designer clothes and shoes into a U-Haul truck. A storage-unit owner spotted the men in the act, and after a brief confrontation, both fled in the truck, per the same account.
One Suspect Jailed, Another Still At Large
Police have since tracked down Joseph Robinson and placed him in jail in connection with the burglaries, the outlet reports. Richard Lawson has not been located, and Cobb County police have not disclosed where he might be hiding or where the stolen property might be stashed.
Investigators are asking anyone who spots the distinctive antique weapons online or in local pawn shops to call police, noting that items like centuries-old samurai swords are highly distinguishable and unlikely to blend in with typical secondhand merchandise, according to FOX 5 Atlanta's reporting.
Not the First Storage-Unit Hit in Cobb County
This is not the only storage-facility theft to hit Cobb County in recent months. Police previously arrested James Thompson after thieves used a ladder to climb into a unit at Midgard Self Storage on Log Cabin Drive SE, making off with roughly $8,000 in designer clothing, shoes and two televisions, WSB-TV reported. That investigation began Aug. 18 after the overnight break-in.
WSB-TV also detailed a separate case in which two men cut protective wiring to break into five storage units at a U-Haul facility on South Cobb Drive in Smyrna over several months, stealing clothing, expensive sneakers, a Georgia identification card and seven debit cards. U-Haul told the station it has since added security measures at that location.
Burglary has not been limited to storage facilities in the area. The Marietta Daily Journal reported in May 2022 that a sophisticated string of break-ins had hit at least eight Cobb County homes in the months before publication, with thieves making off with jewelry, cash and guns after dark, according to mdjonline.com. Cobb County's own Precinct 4 crime-trends page has noted that while residential burglaries, business burglaries and entering-auto cases saw reductions in September, those categories of crime remain an ongoing concern for the department.
