SAVANNAH, GA (February 22, 2016): Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department’s Downtown Precinct investigators arrested and charged four 14-year-olds, two 13-year-olds and one 16-year-old after surveillance camera footage linked them to several successful and attempted auto break-ins and one assault at a student apartment building on the 600 block of West Bay Street in January and February.
Feb. 20, Metro responded to reports of multiple suspects tampering with door handles of vehicles parked in the building’s garage. Officers arrived finding three male suspects fitting the given descriptions still in the garage. The suspects, ages 13, 14 and 16, were detained and charged with criminal attempted entering auto, loitering and prowling, criminal trespass and possession of tools for the commission of a crime. Their involvement was verified through surveillance camera footage. Bicycles reported stolen from the property also were in found in the suspect’s possession.
The 14-year-old and 16-year-old suspects were transported to the Regional Youth Detention Center. The 13-year-old was charged, then released to a guardian.
Also, on Feb. 9, three 13-year-olds and a 14-year-old male were charged following multiple incidents on Jan. 30 also in the apartment building’s garage. On Jan. 30, surveillance cameras recorded the four suspects tampering with locked vehicle doors or entering and stealing items from unlocked vehicles.
Surveillance footage captured on Feb. 1, also linked two of the Jan. 30 suspects to a physical altercation in the building’s garage that involved a knife. The physical altercation left one of the apartment’s residents with minor injuries. After this incident, the two suspects reportedly ran into Yamacraw Village.
With surveillance footage, detectives immediately verified the identity of one of the teens linked to at least one incident, prompting a warrant service at his Yamacraw Village residence on Feb. 8. During the warrant service detectives found items linking the 14-year-old to the Jan. 30 auto break-ins. Detectives also recovered items reported stolen in a Jan. 7 auto break-in on the 100 block of East State Street at the State Street Garage.
Further investigation linked all four teens to vehicle door tampering incidents on Jan. 27 and Feb. 1 in the apartment building’s garage on West Bay Street. The four suspects also were linked to an auto break-in at the Bryan Street Garage on Feb. 7.
The four teenagers were charged with criminal trespass and loitering and prowling. Two are charged with entering auto. One is charged with criminal attempt to enter an auto and one is charged with party to a crime – entering auto.
Anyone with additional information on these cases should call CrimeStoppers at (912) 234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.
A confidential tip line also is open directly to investigators at (912) 525-3124.
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