A 24-year-old Snellville man charged with setting a fire inside a Gwinnett County church allegedly left a trail of petty crimes including burglary, shoplifting and vandalism besides the arson, authorities said.
A Gwinnett County Police Department report obtained by Channel 2 Action News spells out the alleged one-man crime spree by David Wayne Stone Jr.
An officer investigating the burglary of a Shell gas station on Centerville Highway in Snellville early Friday morning visited a nearby Wal-Mart store on the same street to see if a suspect in Shell’s surveillance video might have been recorded by store video.
A Wal-Mart employee said a man matching the description from the Shell heist – a short, stocky individual wearing blue jeans, a dark-colored jacket and light-colored hooded jacket underneath – had stolen a case of beer about 10:30 p.m. the night before.
The store worker recognized the man “as a repeat customer who shoplifts,” the police report stated. “She said he picked up a case of natural light beer and walked past all points of sale and outside the store without paying for it. The case of beer is valued at $17.99.”
During roll call Friday, members of the Gwinnett police Community Response Team were briefed on the same man being suspected in several incidents including the arson fire early that morning that caused minor damage to the gymnasium building of Zoar United Methodist Church, on Zoar Church Road near Snellville.
A surveillance video image of the suspect was given to TV news outlets. Later Friday, an officer canvassing the area was approached by a citizen.
“She said she had seen the photo on the news and was certain the suspect is a person she had seen consistently on the front porch of a residence in her neighborhood,” police said.
Officers went to the area and ended up at the home of Stone’s parents.
Shown the surveillance photo, Stone’s mother “said without a doubt the person in the photo was her son,” police said. David Stone, the parents told investigators, “has been battling alcohol problems for some time.”
The man was not at his parents’ home, but investigators determined he had a girlfriend in Snellville, and they found him and arrested him at her place.
Stone admitted to investigators that he started the church fire, and burglarized the Shell station by throwing a rock through the window and stealing cigarettes, police said.
He also admitted burglarizing Extra Storage and throwing rocks through the windows of the Zaxby’s and Mr. Eggroll restaurants, all on Centerville Highway, police said.
Stone is being held without bond in the Gwinnett Detention Center.
Besides charges of burglary, first-degree arson and vandalism to a place in worship in connection with the church break-in, the suspect is charged with two additional burglary counts, two counts of criminal damage to property and one count of theft by shoplifting, according to Gwinnett County Sheriff’s records.
He also is being held for violation of probation in an unrelated case, police said.
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