Smyrna Police Offer Safe Location to Complete Transactions Arranged Online

From the Smyrna Police Department

The Smyrna Police Department is offering the use of its headquarters parking lot and lobby for residents looking for safe places to conduct transactions arranged online.

Dubbed “Operation Safe Sale”, the program is a response to safety threats for those engaging in cash transactions involving items advertised online or other classified ads. Residents can feel safe conducting these types of transactions in front of a police officer or in the well-lit parking lot.

Furthermore, upon request, police officers can check the items being sold to see if they are lost or stolen prior to completion of the transaction. The Smyrna Police Department address is 2646 Atlanta Road Smyrna, Ga 30080 and is open 24/7.

The offer by the Smyrna Police Department comes in the wake of the tragic murder of a Cobb County couple who traveled to south Georgia for what they thought would be the purchase of a classic car they learned about on Craigslist last week.

The suspect in the murders of Bud and June Runion, Ronnie ”Jay” Towns of Telfair County, allegedly lured the couple to him by claiming to have a 1966 Ford Mustang that he was willing to sell to Bud Runion, who had posted a want ad on Craigslist. Sheriff’s deputies in Telfair County believe Towns did not own a Mustang and planned to rob the couple.

The Runion’s bodies were discovered on Monday. The couple was found shot to death in a wooded area of Telfair County near a pond where their missing SUV had been discovered earlier on Monday.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, which conducted the autopsy on the Runions, both were killed by a shot to the head from a small caliber gun, said the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.