Two men accused of stealing the hard drives from computers in retail stores are believed responsible for numerous similar crimes across the metro area, police said Friday.
Ryan Kingston, 29, of Dacula, and a man who has not yet been identified work together to commit the shoplifting crimes, Officer David Baldwin with Marietta police said Friday afternoon.
“Kingston has been able to defeat the electronic security devices attached to the packaging of the hard drives and then conceal the computer hard drives on his person,” Baldwin said in an emailed statement.
Marietta police issued an arrest warrant for Kingston after linking him to a Tuesday night theft from a Target store, Baldwin said. But Kingston already was in the Atlanta city jail for a similar alleged crime at a Wal-Mart, according to police.
In the most recent incident, a security camera allegedly recorded Kingston stealing computer drives from the Target at 2201 Cobb Parkway.
Any police jurisdiction or business that has similar, unsolved thefts of computer hard drives is asked to contact the Marietta Police Department’s Crime Analyst at 770-794-5286. Anyone with information about the identity of Kingston’s accomplice is asked to contact the Marietta tip line at 770-794-6990.
