2 charged in store burglary

According to the Commerce police incident report, a motorist alerted an officer to a burglary in process at Cody Fuels. En route, the officer learned that the burglar alarm had been activated. Upon arrival, he found the front window of the business smashed and saw numerous lottery tickets on the ground.

Other responding officers met the witness at the Flying J. He told the police he was at the Flying J when he heard the alarm go off at Cody Fuels, so he drove over to Cody Fuels in time to see the perpetrators come out of the building, get in a white truck and head south on Interstate 85.

With the description of the vehicle and a tag number provided by the witnesses, city police posted a lookout for the vehicle.

A few minutes later, Commerce officers heard Braselton police dealing with a vehicle matching the description.

A Braselton officer spotted the suspect vehicle and caught up with it at the Gwinnett County line, according to the Braselton police report. The officer learned from dispatch that the vehicle had been stolen out of Cobb County, the report indicated.

When the officer attempted a traffic stop, the vehicle pulled onto the emergency lane as if to stop, but did not stop. It pulled back onto the right lane and continued south at 55-65 miles per hour.

A second Braselton unit passed the subject vehicle and at the 121-mile marker deployed “stop sticks,” devices designed to puncture tires. The tactic worked, and the two officers pulled the suspects from the truck and handcuffed them.

Not only did police recover the lottery tickets, $780 worth of cigarettes, $195 worth of cigars, watches valued at $600, and other merchandise, but they also found a Cody Fuels stamp used on bank deposits, the Commerce police report indicated.

In addition, the store owner reported that his store’s video surveillance system captured clear images of both suspects and their vehicle as the crime was committed.