Two men who were arrested in Forsyth County last week following a chase with sheriff’s deputies have been linked to ATM thefts in the Atlanta area and out of state, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO).
The series of events began to unfold Wednesday when Sandy Springs police alerted FCSO that a vehicle with a stolen tag was headed toward Cumming.
“One of our Crime Reduction Unit deputies located the car in a South Forsyth Apartment Complex and attempted to pull it over,” according to a FCSO Facebook post. But the driver sped away, leading deputies on a brief chase around the complex and, at one time, “jumping a curb” in the attempt to get away. A second deputy joined the case and wrecked the vehicle using a maneuver officers are trained to employ when attempting to stop a fleeing vehicle.
“Two of the passengers fled from the vehicle,” the post reads. “The driver, identified as 40-year-old Brandon Davis of Houston, TX, was taken into custody immediately. One of the passengers jumped over a concrete wall, unfortunately for him, that was the start of a 15-foot drop into a retention pond. After an injured leg and foot, he attempted to give a fake ID to the deputies., We asked him how to spell the name on the ID (but he was unable to do that). He was eventually identified 24-year-old Wallace Thomas from Houston, TX.”
Meanwhile, deputies were conducting a search of the vehicle and located a chain, a large yellow crowbar, two tow hooks used by tow truck drivers and an alloy steel winch hook, “tools that are used to burglarize ATMs.” In addition, on one of the phones located in the vehicle, the GPS was displayed on the screen and the address was to a nearby Credit Union.
“Their background revealed both have been arrested and convicted multiple times for burglaries of businesses in other states and Wallace Thomas has several extradition warrants out of Texas and Missouri, one of which is for stealing a or from an ATM in Missouri.”
Davis was charged with Criminal Trespass/Damage to Property, Affixing Tag to Conceal or Misrepresent, Fleeing and Attempting to Elude, Reckless Driving, Theft by Receiving, Loitering and Prowling, Conspiracy to Commit a Felony, and Possession of Tools for Commission of A Felony.
Thomas was charged with Loitering and Prowling, Obstruction, False Name and Date of Birth, Identity Fraud, Possession of Tools for Commission of a Felony, and Conspiracy to Commit a Felony.
Both are being held without bond.
One suspect escaped on foot and remained at large late last week.
(Click here to view a dash-cam video of the vehicle pursuit and body cam view of the foot chase: https://fb.watch/p81MbL-iXu/?mibextid=RtaFA8 .