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Surveillance video a thousand words of crime prevention
Businesses investment in top equipment helps law enforcement
0623VIDEO 1
Manoj Patel reviews scenes from video surveillance cameras on a computer screen at his Country Grocery and Deli on Dahlonega Highway in Clermont. Patel was the victim of an armed robbery May 31 at the convenience store, but video footage helped lead the Hall County Sheriff’s Office to a suspect last week.
A Clermont man charged in a May 31 robbery at a convenience store in Clermont near the Lumpkin County line had been evading the law for 19 days. But once images and video from the robbery were released the to the public, authorities arrested 25-year-old Michael Allen Hoitink in a couple of days. “We are big proponents of video surveillance in businesses,” said Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks, spokesman for the Hall County Sheriff’s Office and head of the crime prevention unit.