Defendant Gets Probation In Burglary, Entering Auto Cases

WOODSTOCK, GA — A Woodstock man has been sentenced to 10 years on probation for a burglary and entering auto crime spree reported in September 2017 in a Towne Lake neighborhood.

Blake Thomas Swanson pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of burglary in the first degree and 29 counts of entering auto. The non-negotiated plea indicates he was give a total of 10 years for the burglary charge and five years each for the entering auto charges. However, the plea allows him to serve his time on probation concurrently.

Swanson, who was 21 years old at the time of the plea, will also have to pay the probation supervisory fee; complete a regional substance abuse treatment program; pay $2,190 in restitution to the victims of his crimes; have no contact with the victims; avoid consuming alcohol and narcotics or dangerous drugs unless prescribed; avoid associating with anyone who uses illegal drugs; not occupy a home where alcohol or illegal drugs are present; and not consume alcohol and operate a motor vehicle. He is also prohibited from owning any firearms or occupying a vehicle or home where firearms are present.

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Swanson was arrested after Cherokee Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched around 8:16 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 23 to a reported entering auto in the Eagle Watch subdivision. A deputy made contact with the homeowner and later learned several other neighbors were also hit during the alleged spree, the sheriff's office said.

An investigation uncovered that 22 vehicles belonging to several residents on different streets had been targeted during the overnight hours. Those vehicles, the sheriff's office added, were all left unlocked and were not forcibly entered.

One resident whose Apple iPad was stolen was able to use an app to determine the device's location, which was later discovered to be Swanson's residence. Swanson was arrested and booked into the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center. An indictment handed down in December notes Swanson burglarized the home of one couple sometime between Sept. 20-21 while the entering autos occurred between Sept. 18-23.

Photo: Blake Thomas Swanson. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff's Office