Police bust crime ring

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.