Peachtree City Detective Tim Pierson took a bite out of crime recently when he identified an Alabama man who had been entering vehicles at the World Gym location on Commerce Drive.
Pierson on Monday said two car break-ins had occurred in the parking lot on Feb. 21 and resulted in three purses and a laptop computer being stolen.
Serving essentially as the department’s entering auto specialist, Pierson placed two trail cameras at the World Gym location on Feb. 23.
It had been several months since the last incident of car break-ins, so Pierson decided to place the cameras in the location. Break-ins often occur in clusters and “I anticipated more,” said Pierson.
“Within five minutes of the trail camera being placed, the suspect entered the parking lot and subsequently broke into another vehicle,” said Peachtree City Police spokesperson Odilia Bergh. “After hearing the call dispatched on the radio, Tim went to the area, spoke with the victim and changed out the data cards on the cameras.”
Pierson went to the police department and viewed the photos the camera took and they did capture the incident, including the suspect vehicle and tag number, Bergh said.
“The tag was registered to a female out of Union City and he went to that location with another investigator to see if the suspect vehicle was there,” Bergh said. “It was not so the next day, a search warrant was signed by a Fulton County Magistrate Judge for the address where the suspect vehicle is registered.”
During the execution of the search warrant, property belonging to one of the victims was recovered and the suspect vehicle was impounded and brought to the Peachtree City Police Department for further processing.
“During a more in-depth search of the vehicle, black gloves and two window punches (used to force entry into vehicles through windows) were located in the center console,” Bergh explained.
The investigation revealed that the suspect is 35-year-old Moses Miller, of Montgomery, Ala.
Miller is currently wanted for entering auto charges from the Feb. 21 and Feb. 23 incidents at World. Charges for the Feb. 21 crimes are based on witness accounts putting the suspect vehicle in the World Gym parking lot during that time frame, Bergh said.
Pierson had advice for motorists that can help prevent becoming a victim of an auto break-in.
“Don’t leave valuables in plain view and lock your vehicle,” Pierson said. “Those two things will minimize being a victim.”
A former Air Force security specialist, Pierson has been in law enforcement for 10 years and with the Peachtree City Police Dept. as an investigator for three years.
Below left, police photo of suspect Moses Miller. Photo/Peachtree City Police Department.
