Crime & Safety

Burglary Suspect Thinks He's Invisible, But No Magic Wand Here

Inside the police reports: The incident was caught on security camera, where the suspect was very much visible.

A burglary suspect in unincorporated Stone Mountain in Gwinnett County told police he was coming down from a drug high and thought he was invisible when he allegedly entered his neighbor's home Aug. 12.

The incident happened in the 5600 block of Noblett Road, which is not far from Lilburn and inside the Parkview School Cluster. After returning home in the afternoon the homeowner discovered someone had broken into his home. In addition to broken glass under one of the rear windows, the bent and out-of-place blind on the double rear door, the homeowner/victim told police he also noticed a rock laying on the floor near the broken window.

A Playstation game system, cords and controllers were missing, according to the report. A green duffle bag that had been in the homeowners' closet was emptied of its contents, which include headphones, and was also gone.

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There was a green washcloth under the window with what appeared to be dry red blood on it, the report states. The homeowner said the wash cloth wasn't his, nor did he keep rocks in the house.

The incident was recorded on a motion-activated security camera set up next to the double rear doors. The footage showed a young white male -- with long wavy dark brown hair and bushy sideburns -- enter the residence and walk past the security camera multiple times, according to the report.

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The homeowner thought the suspect looked like his neighbor's son, with whom he'd previously had issues regarding throwing cigarette packs and beer bottles into his backyard, the report states.

The officer stepped outside to get some information for the victim when he noticed a male standing in the next door driveway who matched the suspect's description. The officer asked him if he noticed anything suspicious; the young man said he had not.

The officer noticed the male's T-shirt had multiple dry blood spots on the sleaves and back of the T-shirt, the report states. The officer asked for the young man's name and birth information to verify his residence. The 17-year-old provided the information and told the officer he was on juvenile probation.

The police officer told the male there had been a burglary next door, and the young man said a friend of his had posted a Facebook message about breaking into the neighbor's house.

After seeing the friend's message, the officer said the person did not look like the suspect in the security footage and the message mentioned nothing of breaking into the neighbor's home. The young man told police his friend now had sideburns and must have deleted the Facebook message.

The officer returned to the victim's home to look at the security footage again. He determined that the young man he'd spoken with was the suspect, the report states.

The officer then placed the suspect under arrest for burglary.

The suspect told police that he was coming down off a non-prescription high and broke into the neighbor's house. He thought he was invisible, he told police.

The suspect explained that after banging on the neighbor's door and getting no answer after several minutes, he climbed over the fence and broke the rear window door with a hammer, followed by throwing a rock through the window. 

The suspect told police he used a green hand towel to move the glass and prevent getting cut. He said he went to the victim's bathroom looking for prescription pills to help him come down from his high. He found none, the report states.

The suspect also told police he took the green duffle bag from the victim's home and put the game system and other items in it. He then took the bag to the attic in his home; it was retrieved, with the Playstation game system, two controllers, cords and headset inside, and returned to the victim.

The suspect was taken to the Gwinnett County Jail without incident, the report states.


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