House Watch program by Peachtree City police pays off with arrest in unoccupied home

0
6351
Shutterstock image.

An incident in Peachtree City in the early morning hours of June 26 was resolved thanks to a special program the police department provides to all residents upon request.

According to a police report, an officer was patrolling on Rosemont shortly after 5 a.m. and noticed a suspicious vehicle parked at a residence. The officer’s interest was piqued because that home was on a list specifying that no one should have been there at that time.

Someone was found in the home and, as it turned out, was wanted for a probation violation. Jordan Lytton, 37, was charged with that offense and taken to Fayette County Jail, according to the police report.

The incident serves as a reminder that the department’s House Watch program can be a valuable service, as department spokesman Lt. Chris Hyatt pointed out.

“It is a service offered to all citizens for a multitude of reasons, whether you’re going on vacation or going through domestic issues,” said Hyatt.

In this particular case, the house is involved in the settling of an estate. Due to some issues within the family, it was decided that no one should be on the property until those issues were resolved, according to Hyatt.

“We found one of the younger family members there, and he was actively wanted at the time,” he said. “He went to jail for his warrants.”

At any given time there are 10-20 directed assignments in each of the city’s five zoned districts that are being serviced by this program, Hyatt said. How often each residence is reviewed depends to some extent on the individual request.

“Typically we want to put eyes on it at least one or twice a shift,” said Hyatt.

A resident can contact the department by phone at 770-487-8866 and have his or her home put on the list immediately. There is also the option of going online and finding one’s community officer — every neighborhood has such an assigned officer — and working directly with him or her.

To find a specific community officer, visit https://peachtree-city.org/mycommunityofficer and click on the interactive map of the city found on that page. Zoom in on a particular neighborhood, click on it and a text will pop up with the community officer’s contact information.

For more information with the department’s House Watch Program or to request that service for your property, go to https://www.peachtree-city.org/1207/House-Watch-Program to submit an online request or to download an application form.