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Crime ring busted
By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com
A stakeout Tuesday morning for a couple caught on video robbing a vending
machine has opened a wide-ranging investigation into a crime ring involving
multiple burglaries and more than 70 thefts in the area along with several
crystal meth labs, police said.
The suspects, identified as Anthony Kirby, 20, and Kimberly Thompson,
28, are also implicated in other crimes in Fayetteville and Tyrone along
with Fayette, Coweta, south Fulton, Henry and Spalding counties, said
Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray.
“This is the mother lode,” Murray said of the case, which has
also led police to a fencing operation where stolen goods were sold at
an area pawn shop. None of the crystal meth labs identified in the investigation
are located in Fayette County, the chief added.
The suspects, who live in Fairburn, were arrested in Peachtree City at
the Best Western Motel after they opened a vending machine and removed
money from it, Murray said. A subsequent search of their residence turned
up information leading police to other illegal activities, Murray said.
“It was not uncommon for them to come back with about $4,000 in cash
from vending machines,” Murray said, adding that some members of
the “group” Kirby and Thompson associated with had keys to the
vending machines.
Police on the stakeout were armed with photos of the two suspects from
a digital surveillance video taken at the Best Western Oct. 6. They also
had a description of the car they were looking for.
But they were playing a hunch that the crooks would be back five to seven
days after the first incident at the Best Western, Murray said.
“We knew which machines in the city were vulnerable,” Murray
said. “There are specific models and makes that make it a lot easier
because of the way they are designed.”
The video, Murray added. “was crystal clear and they looked right
at it (the camera).”
In fact, just before Kirby and Thompson were arrested, police decided
to distribute the digital video of the first Best Western incident to
Atlanta TV stations in hopes of locating the suspects. But 10 minutes
later, Kirby and Thompson were in custody, Murray said.
“These are extremely significant arrests,” Murray said.
The pair have been connected to at least six crimes in Peachtree City
alone, police said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called in to help with the
investigation, particularly because the leads on drug activity are for
locations outside of Peachtree City and Fayette County, Murray said.
Kirby and Thompson belonged to a group that committed the crimes “from
here all the way to Florida,” Murray said, adding that more arrests
are forthcoming.
“Both of them have extensive criminal arrest backgrounds,” Murray
added.
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