Cobb County police have identified a second man believed to be involved in at least three smoke shop burglaries. But it's not yet known if he'll be linked to the nearly 30 crimes across the metro area.
John C. Clements, of Kennesaw, has been charged with three counts of burglary, according to an arrest warrant obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. As of Friday afternoon, Clements was not in custody in Cobb, according to jail records.
Clements is the second suspect charged in Cobb County, according to police. But police throughout metro Atlanta are investigating similar crimes, which began in August. At least 29 crimes occurred at smoke shops following the same pattern, according to various police agencies.
While one person waits in a getaway car, a masked man tosses a large rock through the glass door of a cigar shop, according to shop owners and police. Once in the shop, he goes straight for the cash register, past the assorted cigars and merchandise. Then he goes for the cash, sometimes carrying the entire register back through the shattered door, and loads it in the car. Then the two are gone.
Last month, Lionel Eugene Mickens, 23, of Smyrna, was arrested and booked into the Cobb County jail, according to police. Mickens has been charged with burglary for crimes in Cobb, Gwinnett, Henry and Fulton counties, jail records showed.
At the time of his arrest, Mickens was on parole, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. A two-time convicted felon, Mickens was last released in September 2013 after serving nearly three years following a burglary conviction in Cobb County, records showed. He remained Friday in the Cobb jail, where he was being held without bond.
Clements’ whereabouts were unknown Friday.
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