Police Find Owner of Stolen WWII Memorabilia

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A Gwinnett County detective used some diligent Internet searching to find the owner of valuable World War II memorabilia found in a stolen car earlier this spring.

According to police, Jeffery Jackson first reported that during a burglary at his Lawrenceville-area home on March 26, the culprits stole several items, including ribbons, pins, rank insignia and aviation pins from WWII that belonged to his late grandfather.

Two days later, cops investigated a stolen car located at the Park Crossing Apartments near Norcross. Inside the car were several stolen items, including a small brown leather pouch containing miscellaneous jewelry.

A detective assigned to the Gwinnett Police Gang Unit found a name on the back of a bracelet inside the pouch and went to the Internet to start looking for the owner.

The detective eventually found and contacted a relative in New York, who said he had a family member in metro Atlanta — Jackson.

“Using our database, we found the original burglary report from March 26,” Gwinnett Police Cpl. Michele Pihera said in an email. “The detective made contact with the victim who positively identified the jewelry as items belonging to his late grandfather.”

Jackson picked up the stolen memorabilia, plus other items, on Monday at the police department.

Pihera said there are several suspects identified in this and other similar cases. The names of the suspects are not being released at this time.