15-Year-Old Charged in Entering Auto Spree

TOWNE LAKE, GA -- Investigators with the Cherokee Sheriff's Office have arrested a juvenile in connection to a slew of vehicle break-in incidents in the Towne Lake community.

The teenager, a 15-year-old boy from Atlanta, has been charged with six counts of entering auto, seven counts of financial card transaction theft, one count of criminal trespassing, one count of giving false information, one count of theft by receiving a motor vehicle and one count of financial transaction card fraud, said sheriff's office spokesperson Lt. Jay Baker.

Baker said the teenager was arrested Tuesday afternoon. The agency's first encounter with the juvenile occurred Oct. 18 when they found a vehicle abandoned in a neighborhood off Bells Ferry Road near Hobgood Park and the boy walking nearby.

At that time, they did not have enough to charge him, and released him to the Department of Family and Children Services. However, after a search of a car -- which was stolen out of Atlanta -- police were able to piece together enough information to charge him in connection to entering auto incidents that resulted in him coming into possession of that property.

"It's possible that he's responsible for additional thefts," Baker said, adding the agency can only charge him with six counts at this point in the investigation.

While entering automobile cases are one of the most common thefts the Cherokee Sheriff's Office investigates, Baker said these latest incidents are different. The probe into the latest crimes show the alleged perpetrators have no connection to Cherokee County and are coming into the area to commit the offenses.

He also said it's possible that this suspect was not working alone, and that detectives continue to work leads to track down any additional person or persons of interest.

In any event, the sheriff's office continues to urge residents to take precautions to drastically reduce their chances of becoming a victim of entering auto. Residents should always lock their car doors and lower their garage doors when possible. They should also take the time to remove valuables from their vehicles.

Baker added the agency has stepped up patrols in the neighborhoods affected by the incidents.

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