Watkinsville teens charged in extensive damage at closed manufacturing plant
Two teenagers broke into a closed manufacturing plant in Watkinsville recently and caused thousands in damage.
“It’s pegged at $9,000, but I thought it would be double that,”
Watkinsville Police Chief Lee O’Dillon said Monday about the damage to
the Southwire Corp. plant on Barnett Shoals Road. The plant closed
operations a few years ago.
The teens, ages 16 and 13, were each charged with burglary and
trespassing and will be prosecuted in juvenile court, the chief said.
Another 13-year-old boy was charged with trespassing for entering the
facility, but not on the day of the vandalism.
The break-in was discovered on Feb. 29 by Southwire maintenance
employees who arrived to find the damage to the plant’s equipment, along
with heavy damage to a computer room. Fire extinguishers were
discharged and a golf cart was used during some of the vandalism,
according to O’Dillon.
A surveillance camera caught the crime on video, the chief said.
“The quality of the video was excellent,” he said. “There is no denying who they are.”
One of the youths was carrying a high-powered pellet pistol, he said.
“It looked like a 9mm or 40-caliber. He was the bad man on the block
brandishing that gun and it was a good way to get himself hurt,”
O’Dillon said.
During the vandalism, the teens observed the security cameras.
“It was an uh-oh moment. They stopped and pointed at the camera and
as a matter of fact they flipped off the camera,” he said, adding at
that point they began shooting out cameras and entered the computer
room, where they used a crowbar and hammer to smash the computer system.
Due to the extent of damage, Southwire had to use their computer technicians to retrieve the video, the chief said.
Watkinsville teens charged in extensive damage at closed manufacturing plant
“It’s pegged at $9,000, but I thought it would be double that,”
Watkinsville Police Chief Lee O’Dillon said Monday about the damage to
the Southwire Corp. plant on Barnett Shoals Road. The plant closed
operations a few years ago.
The teens, ages 16 and 13, were each charged with burglary and
trespassing and will be prosecuted in juvenile court, the chief said.
Another 13-year-old boy was charged with trespassing for entering the
facility, but not on the day of the vandalism.
The break-in was discovered on Feb. 29 by Southwire maintenance
employees who arrived to find the damage to the plant’s equipment, along
with heavy damage to a computer room. Fire extinguishers were
discharged and a golf cart was used during some of the vandalism,
according to O’Dillon.
A surveillance camera caught the crime on video, the chief said.
“The quality of the video was excellent,” he said. “There is no denying who they are.”
One of the youths was carrying a high-powered pellet pistol, he said.
“It looked like a 9mm or 40-caliber. He was the bad man on the block
brandishing that gun and it was a good way to get himself hurt,”
O’Dillon said.
During the vandalism, the teens observed the security cameras.
“It was an uh-oh moment. They stopped and pointed at the camera and
as a matter of fact they flipped off the camera,” he said, adding at
that point they began shooting out cameras and entered the computer
room, where they used a crowbar and hammer to smash the computer system.
Due to the extent of damage, Southwire had to use their computer technicians to retrieve the video, the chief said.
Watkinsville teens charged in extensive damage at closed manufacturing plant
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