A Dacula man was arrested on charges related to a smash-and-grab burglary at a gas station after authorities found him walking after his vehicle ran out of gas.
Micah James Mitchell, 41, was booked into the Barrow County Detention Center on Friday on charges of smash and grab burglary, criminal damage to property and theft by taking.
Barrow County deputies responded to an incident early Friday at the BP gas station on Ga. 211 at Rockwell Church Road after the alarm went off.
It appeared that a vehicle had rammed into the front glass doors, and cigarettes and lottery tickets had been taken from the store, Lt. Matt Guthas of the Barrow County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
Red paint was found on the frame of the doors and tail light lens pieces were left on the scene, deputies said. Authorities found a damaged, abandoned 2003 red Ford Expedition -- with cigarettes and lottery tickets inside -- on Ga. 53 near Mulberry Road.
A Jackson County deputy found Mitchell walking down the highway and returned him to his vehicle, where he was arrested.
Investigators are working with authorities from Braselton and Gwinnett County on two similar incidents in that city and in Dacula in the hours before the Barrow smash and grab, Guthas said.
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