Two metro Atlanta men remained in the Hall County Jail late Monday morning following their arrests Wednesday night when sheriff’s deputies interrupted a burglary in progress at a house in Flowery Branch, according to a sheriff’s office spokeswoman.
Deputies were dispatched to the residence on Old Orr Road after the homeowner, who lives out of state, called 911 to report a neighbor notified her someone was trespassing on her property, B.J. Williams said. “When the deputies arrived at the scene around 8:45 p.m., they found a white pickup truck with a flatbed trailer parked in front of the house,” she continued. “They also located two men at the side of the house. The men, later identified as 30-year-old Cley Steven Cotto Rodriguez of Lilburn and 32-year-old Roberto Antonio Cruz of Stone Mountain, told deputies they were at the residence to pick up a lawnmower for a third party.”
Deputies contacted the homeowner, who disputed the story of the two suspects, saying she had inherited the home and its belongings from her father and had given no one permission to be on the property, Williams added. “In addition to finding the lawnmower in question at the side of the house, deputies also located a large safe on hand trucks next to a side door of the residence.”
Rodriguez and Cruz were arrested on charges of burglary and loitering and prowling.