A Dahlonega man was caught with stolen merchandise from Walmart stores and other businesses across multiple counties totaling $25,000, police said.
Richard Lee Jackson, 42, was charged with theft by shoplifting, criminal damage to property and two counts of driving on a suspended license. Oakwood Police said he is in the Lumpkin County Detention Center.
Following a theft investigation Feb. 23 at the Oakwood Walmart, investigators learned of similar thefts in Dawson County. A Walmart employee recorded a partial license plate number from a silver Chrysler PT Cruiser after an attempted theft at the Dawsonville Walmart, which identified Jackson.
“He was filling carts and forcibly exiting locked doors and fire exits during the overnight hours mostly,” Oakwood Police Investigator Todd Templeton wrote in an email.
The sheriff’s offices from Dawson and Lumpkin counties searched Jackson’s home on Angers Court in Dahlonega.
“Upon executing the search warrant, officers located merchandise stolen from Walmart stores in Oakwood, Gainesville, Dawsonville, Buford, Cleveland, Canton and two stores in Cumming,” Templeton wrote in a news release.
Items included a large above-ground swimming pool, trampoline, flatscreen TVs, tools, household goods, auto accessories, vacuums, electronics, stereo equipment, clothing, patio furniture and a fire pit, Templeton said.
Police also found three John Deere riding lawnmowers from the Skelton Road Lowe’s in Gainesville. Sgt. Kevin Holbrook said the report was made Tuesday, March 21, that the fencing at the store was cut.
Investigators also found “power tools from Home Depot, a landscaping trailer stolen from a residence in Hall County, and a four-wheeler stolen from a residence in Forsyth County,” Templeton wrote.
“The combined total value of the recovered stolen property was estimated to be approximately $25,000 from nine different law enforcement jurisdictions. Investigators also recovered methamphetamine and marijuana from the residence, Templeton wrote.
The investigation is ongoing with more charges forthcoming.
Anyone with information concerning other thefts is asked to call Templeton at 770-534-2364 or their local law enforcement agency.