Suspect's Crime Spree Included Burglary, Theft, Shoplifting

CANTON, GA — A 19-year-old man was arrested after committing a slew of crimes, including burglary, theft and shoplifting, all within a day's work in the city of Canton. Police arrested Christian Davis Hawkins, 19, of Decatur, and charged him with two counts of burglary, theft by taking (auto), possession of a schedule IV drug and misdemeanor theft by shoplifting.

The investigation began on Wednesday, May 9 when an officer was patrolling the area of East Main Street and Brown Industrial Parkway around 11 a.m. when she noticed a Dodge Caravan, occupied by two men, was sitting in the road.

The officer turned around to help whom she thought were stranded motorists, but saw the pair "quickly exit the vehicle and leave the scene on foot," Canton police note. The officer made it to the vehicle, but the two men were nowhere in sight. The van, whose engine was smoking, was towed out of the lane of travel. The suspects remained at large.

Just a few hours later around 2 p.m., officers responded to a shoplifting call at Kohl's at 2034 Cumming Highway. Officers arrived and met with store employees, who said they stopped a man who was "walking through the store, taking assorted articles of clothing and placing them in his backpack," Canton police added.

The items were recovered, and officers determined the man had outstanding warrants for his arrest from Canton and Cherokee County. The officer took the individual into custody for those outstanding warrants and for the shoplifting charge and discovered he was in possession of four narcotic pills. The accused shoplifter was transported to the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center.

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Meanwhile, officers began to discuss the possibility that the man arrested at Kohl's could be one of the two motorists who bolted from the van on East Main Street. Officers received another call around 4:30 p.m of a stolen car at Mr. Clean Carwash at 220 Riverstone Parkway. As the reporting officer made his way to the scene, it "became clear why the individuals left the scene of the abandoned vehicle — because it was stolen overnight," the agency added.

Throughout the investigation, detectives obtained surveillance footage showing the man who was arrested at Kohl's was the same person who left the abandoned van and entered the car wash around 1:16 a.m. Wednesday. Once inside the car wash bay, the alleged burglar took a white caravan and while leaving the business, damaged one of the facility doors.

Hawkins's alleged crime spree didn't end there, as around 11 p.m. Wednesday, officers were dispatched to a burglary call on Westview Street. The resident said he left for work that morning and when he got home, he noticed someone forcibly entered the house and took his television.

Officers and the assigned investigator discovered a possible name of the suspect, which turned out to be the same man arrested for shoplifting and the accused car wash burglar. The stolen TV was found inside the back of the Dodge Caravan that was towed from East Main Street.

“I am proud of the teamwork of our officers and detectives, which was very important in connecting and solving the cases involving this suspect," said Police Chief Mark Mitchell. "One of the points in our mission statement is to create a safer Canton by reducing crime and by taking this person off our streets, it goes a long way toward improving the quality of life for our great community.”

It's unclear whether the second male seen running from the Dodge Caravan was tied to Hawkins' alleged crimes. Jail records show Hawkins was booked into the jail around 2:34 p.m. Wednesday, May 11.

Photo: Christian Davis Hawkins. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff's Office