AC thefts a sure sign of hot weather

Published 12:50 pm Monday, June 25, 2018

THOMASVILLE — A woman was checking her rental property in the 500 block of Grady Street Saturday when she noticed an air-conditioning unit was missing from a window, according to authorities.

The woman told police she did not realize the unit had been stolen, then discovered a second unit was missing from the house.

The tenant was not at home, according to a Thomasville Police Department (TPD) incident report, and it has not been determined if anything else was removed from the house.

The property owner went to another rental property in the 200 block of Grant Street and discovered another air-conditioning unit had been removed from the house.

“It’s under investigation,” said Maj. Wade Glover, TPD public information officer. “We’re following up on leads, checking at pawn shops.”

Air conditioners are “a hot commodity” now, Glover said.

In other weekend activity, police are looking for a man who took a large quantity of meat from Walmart on Saturday night.

An incident report shows the man took three racks of ribs, chicken and a chuck roast to a self checkout lane and acted like he would pay for the meat, but then ran out the door.

The report shows that as the suspect was running from the store, he dropped the ribs and roast. While looking for the food, police encountered a man walking along Hall Road carrying raw chicken and ribs in a fast-food restaurant bag. He told police he saw a man drop the meat in a ditch and picked it up.

The man was released, but store surveillance showed that the male walking along Hall Road and the man who ran from the store is the same person.

“We’re trying to locate him,” Glover said. “He is wanted for theft by shoplifting.”

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820