Police Investigating Lead in Hamilton Mill Entering Autos

Gwinnett County Police made some headway this past week in their investigation of a string of entering autos in and around Hamilton Mill.

An officer visited a Dacula residence after receiving a tip that a juvenile at the location might be in possession of stolen property. According to the police report, a tipster advised the juvenile had been involved in “car hopping” -- street slang for entering autos -- and was in possession of a GPS unit and laptop.

With the parent’s permission, the officer questioned the 15-year-old male about the GPS unit and laptop. The juvenile admitted having a GPS unit, but said he had purchased it. The teen said he had not stolen any items out of cars, but had previously purchased items at school and then re-sold them for a profit. The juvenile denied knowing if the items were stolen, but said he did get them for a cheap price.

The teen retrieved the GPS unit and a camera he claimed to have recently purchased. Neither item was listed as stolen in the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) database, however the GPS unit did have a Brooksong Way address recorded.

The officer went to the Brooksong Way address and asked the resident if he had recently been the victim of entering auto. The man said he had and that a GPS unit was taken. The man produced the box for the GPS unit and the officer was able to match the make, model and serial numbers to the item recovered from the juvenile. The victim said he did not wish to press charges, but did want his GPS unit returned. The unit, valued at $249, was returned to the victim.

Since the officer could not prove the camera -- a Casio EX-S200 -- was stolen, the item was left in the teen’s possession.

No charges were filed against the teen and the case remains under investigation.