Woodstock Man Indicted In Towne Lake Entering Auto Spree

WOODSTOCK, GA -- A Woodstock resident has been indicted on charges related to a slew of entering auto incidents reported in a Towne Lake neighborhood in September. A Cherokee County grand jury this week indicted Blake Thomas Swanson on one count of burglary and 30 counts of entering auto, court records show.

Swanson was arrested after the Cherokee Sheriff's Office was 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.

The indictment charges Swanson burglarized the home of one couple sometime between Sept. 20-21 while the entering autos occurred between Sept. 18-23.

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 previously told Patch that all of the targeted vehicles were left unlocked and no forced entry was used to access items inside those cars.

"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