Two Alabama men and one from Georgia have been charged in a rash of recent commercial burglaries across Fayette and Coweta counties and in other Georgia locations. A task force of multiple law enforcement agencies coordinated the investigation and apprehended the three suspects.
Andrew Edge, 22, of Phenix City, Ala., along with Artavius Reynolds, 25, of Phenix City, and 28-year-old Xzavier Reynolds, of Columbus, were charged with the commercial burglaries, according to Fayette County Sheriff Barry Babb.
The commercial burglaries in unincorporated Fayette County included a Feb. 10 “smash and grab” burglary at the Woolsey Chevron Food Mart and another at the Chevron store on Ga. Highway 85 South, said Babb.
In both incidents, items were stolen out of the closed businesses after forced entry was made to the front of the stores, Babb said.
Subsequent incidents involved businesses in Senoia. Senoia Police Department spokesman Jason Ercole said the Crooks Hit n Run, Big Chic and Chapultepec restaurant, all on Ga. Highway 16, were burglarized on Feb. 10.
Peachtree City Police Department spokesman Mark Brown commercial burglaries on Feb. 13 included the Village Store Braelinn Gas Station on Robinson Road and the Peachtree Bottle Shop on Ga. Highway 74 South. Suspects made forced entry into the businesses by breaking the glass on the front doors.
Brown said cash register drawers, along with a safe from one location, were stolen along with alcoholic beverages and cigarettes.
The suspects also attempted a forced entry into the Casa Vieja restaurant on Hwy. 74 South but were unsuccessful, said Brown.
Babb said the burglary crew on Feb. 13 also struck in Spalding County and Woodbury.
Ercole said surveillance cameras near the Peachtree City incident were able to capture identifying information from the suspect vehicle. Peachtree City Police quickly shared this information with local agencies and what amounted to a task force was immediately assembled to follow up on the information that Peachtree City police had provided.
Ercole said investigators learned that the suspect vehicle was a silver 2016 Chevrolet Malibu as suspected early on in the investigation and was a rental car out of Columbus.
Investigators traveled to Columbus that same day but were unable to locate the suspect vehicle. Members of the Columbus PD Robbery/Homicide Unit and the Fugitive Task Force also assisted in the search for the suspect vehicle, Ercole said.
Officers with the Buena Vista Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office stopped a 2016 silver Chevrolet Malibu on Feb. 14 just after it was used to commit two more smash and grab burglaries in their jurisdiction, said Ercole.
Even though the arrests have been made, the investigation is ongoing, Ercole said.
Babb said the trio is suspected of committing burglaries in multiple jurisdictions in Georgia and Alabama.
The three men are currently being held in the Marion County Jail.
Local task force members included the Peachtree City Police Department, Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Coweta County Sheriff’s Office and the Senoia Police Department.
Also involved in the investigation and apprehension were the Columbus Police Department, Buena Vista Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
