Burglary Suspects Arrested at Carwash

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. -- A Warner Robins man was arrested last Thursday at a carwash while vacuuming up broken glass from a window that had been shot out three hours earlier by a Bleckley County homeowner who thwarted a burglary in progress, authorities said.

Keith Michael Waugh, 27, was charged with breaking into the home just after noon Thursday, said Houston County sheriff's Sgt. Ronnie Harlowe. The burglar fled in a silver Honda Accord, the victim reported. A car matching the description was spotted at a carwash on Moody Road in Warner Robins by Houston County sheriff's Lt. Jon Holland.

Inside the car were stolen financial documents belonging to the Bleckley County resident as well as stolen computers, jewelry, guns, cameras and cash from burglaries in Houston County, Harlowe said. Zachary Theron Smith, 23, of Warner Robins, was with Waugh at the car wash and was charged in two burglaries in Perry, Harlowe said. Both men were arrested without incident, Harlowe said, and were being held Friday at the Houston County jail.

Waugh was charged with four counts of burglary, three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during commission of a crime, four counts of financial transaction card fraud and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

The fraud charges stem from a stolen credit card from one of the burglaries, Harlowe said. Waugh had the illegal drugs on him when he was arrested, the sheriff's investigator said. Smith was charged with two counts of burglary, Harlowe said.

The Bleckley County man who shot at the burglars was not injured. He had arrived home to find an unknown car with a Houston County license plate parked in his driveway and some of his personal financial information in the open trunk, Harlowe said.

The homeowner went around to the back of the house and the intruder ran out the front, Harlowe said. The homeowner fired at the fleeing burglar, shattering the driver's side window, the investigator said.

Area police were alerted by radio to look for the car, which Holland spotted at the carwash, Harlowe said. Perry police and Bleckley County sheriff's investigators assisted with the investigation, Harlowe said.

The investigator noted that people should safeguard tax documents, wills, Social Security cards and other personal financial information in bolted-down safes or in safety deposit boxes at banks to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft.

Source: Macon Telegraph

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