Woodstock Man Charged With 22 Counts Of Entering Auto

WOODSTOCK, GA — A 20-year-old man has been charged with nearly two dozen counts of entering vehicles located in a Towne Lake neighborhood. Blake Swanson of Woodstock has been charged with 22 counts of entering auto following an investigation conducted by the Cherokee Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's deputies were dispatched around 8:16 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 23 to an entering auto call reported 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 (Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

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 on a $93,500 bond.

The Cherokee Sheriff's Office is using this latest incident as a reminder that residents should always lock their vehicles, especially if those cars are sitting in one's driveway or along the roadway in front of a home.

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"This type of crime is generally a crime of opportunity as the suspect will just go from driveway to driveway flipping handles on cars hoping to find one unlocked," the agency added.

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