BROOKHAVEN, Ga. — A pretty inexpensive investment and some intelligent thinking helped track down a couple of suspects on Monday who police believe are behind several thefts across metro Atlanta.
Mike Frinter said his landscaping crew was in Chamblee working on a yard when the crew noticed a backpack blower was missing at some point.
"He's like, 'That's weird; maybe I left it somewhere,'" Frinter explained.
A closer look at their landscaping trailer, the crew noticed a 'cut lock' on the ground next to it. Little did these thieves know they were about to be outsmarted by technology.
"This is the second leaf blower I've had stolen," Frinter said, "after the first one, I got the AirTag."
Frinter immediately opened his Find My app to track the tag and then called to notify the Chamblee Police Department.
During the day, Chamblee Police Captain Jason Waasdrop said his team was able to tie the vehicle to a theft of another backpack blower in Forsyth County.
The team tracked the suspects to an area in Dekalb County, where they said they witnessed thieves casing out another landscaping crew's trailer on Hidden Acres Drive. The officers waited for them to leave and stopped to tell the crew to lock up their equipment and stay vigilant.
In the meantime, the officers were trying to get some marked patrol units in the area to help them conduct a traffic stop, but by the time any units were close enough, the suspects were gone.
A little while later, the crime suppression officers from Chamblee Police got an updated location from the AirTag in Tucker. They said they found the vehicle backed up to a work van at a construction site when they arrived.
The officers said they drove by and could see two suspects at the back of the van. One of the officers took pictures of the suspects to get a good description. They didn't stop, and by the time they got turned around, they believed the suspects spotted them and figured out they were tailing them. The suspects then jumped in their car and sped off at a high rate of speed.
Just after 4 p.m., the AirTag picked up the location of the alleged thieves in Brookhaven, along Drew Valley Road.
There, a Brookhaven Police officer initiated a stop that quickly turned into a brief chase. It continued on Cortez Lane in the Brookhaven Gardens subdivision. Dash camera video provided to 11Alive showed the suspected vehicle crashing on a turn along Cortez Lane. You then see the driver and passenger jump out of the silver sedan and take off in opposite directions.
Officers from both Chamblee Police and Brookhaven Police quickly swarmed the area. Body Camera footage from a Brookhaven Police officer shows the officer finding the driver in a fenced-in yard of a homeowner on Noel Drive. This was just one street over from where the driver wrecked.
The officer can be heard giving commands to the suspect, who then jumped over a fence before being tased and falling to the ground at a home next door.
The search then continued for the passenger. Brookhaven Police used their drone, along with a Chamblee Police K-9, to eventually track down that suspect.
Both men were arrested without incident.
Back at the car, officers said they found Frinter's backpack blower inside, a second backpack blower in the trunk and a pair of bolt cutters.
"I believe they're connected to other thefts over the last month or so," Waasdrop said.
He said detectives are working on several leads and will work with other agencies across metro Atlanta to see how many thefts the duo could be behind.
As for protecting your equipment, Waasdrop said it's a great idea to hide trackers on your things if you can afford to do so. He said just like in this case, it can prove to be invaluable when it comes to getting your stolen items back.
He said another good practice is to write the serial numbers down from all of your equipment in a place you can easily access and hand over to the police. It's also a great way to prove those items are yours if recovered, which can speed up the process.
Waasdrop reminds everyone to be mindful of their surroundings. If you are out working on a job site, keep a watchful eye on any suspicious activity, and if you feel something is happening, don't hesitate to call 911.