On October 28, 2022, police in Newnan, Georgia arrested nine people who were accused of breaking into multiple homes and cars in the area. They were able to find one of the suspects’ mobile homes by following a trail of Milky Way candy wrappers.
Deputies told WSB-TV Channel 2 that the bag of Milky Way candy bars was a key piece of evidence in solving the case.
A bag of Milky Ways was taken from the home of an unnamed victim, along with clothes, four guns, ammunition, a chainsaw, and pills for anxiety. The victim told Channel 2 that when he got home, “everything was basically turned upside down.”
“During our walk on trails through the woods, he was able to point out some of the wrappers,” Channel 2 reporter Christian Spinks said. “And when he found one wrapper, we were able to walk a little bit further and find another wrapper. And so on and so forth. And it just formed a trail, and it showed us exactly where the individuals had walked.”
The clues led the police to the Shady Oaks Mobile Home Park, where they found the people they were looking for. Inside Edition says that police found and arrested eight suspects and one unnamed juvenile in connection with at least two home burglaries and five vehicle break-ins in the area.
Gerald Bennett was thought to be a “sweet tooth burglar” who ate a bag of candy he stole on his way home through the woods after a break-in. Ryan Murrow, Amber Brooks, Kevin Atkins, Alan Caswell, Brooke Fields, Tracy Hendrix, and a minor who has not been named were also arrested with Bennett. Also, the Heard County Sheriff’s Office arrested Marvin Rachalla after they found a stolen gun on him that linked him to the Coweta County burglary ring.
Authorities said that the things they thought were stolen were being hidden in the woods and covered with leaves. Things like orange juice and other food were among the things that were taken. One person called the police on Oct. 4 about a possible break-in when he got home around 2:00 p.m. and saw that his truck had been moved into the garage. When he went inside his house, he found a maroon Carhartt beanie that wasn’t his on the kitchen counter and saw that someone had tried to pull out his dining room A/C unit. There were also other things missing from his house.
Sgt. Toby Nix told the Newnan Times-Herald that the thieves were breaking into homes and cars in an area close to where they lived. Many of the suspects were also charged with marijuana possession, drug paraphernalia possession, methamphetamine possession, gun possession during a crime, and gun possession by a convicted felon, in addition to burglary.
Police say that the investigation is still going on and that more arrests could be made.
Featured Image screenshot from embedded YouTube video.
This story syndicated with permission from My Patriot Post