Local & State Headlines

Police arrest two in string of burlaries

• The two suspects were caught on video trying to cash in stolen lottery tickets, police say.

J.D. Sumner

ALBANY — Two men suspected in a string of Albany- area burglaries have been caught, authorities said Tuesday.

Police say that Richard Taylor, 24, and Clifford Thomas, 23, tipped them off when they tried to cash-in some stolen scratch off lottery tickets.

“Thomas was arrested during a traffic stop when a police officer recognized him from surveillance video,” Albany Police Department Investigator Shemika Foster said. “We then made the second arrest from information obtained from the co-defendant.”

Taylor and Thomas are believed to be linked to a series of burglaries — as many as ten in all — throughout the Albany, Dougherty County area, police said.

During those burglaries, the two are believed to have busted holes in the rear of the buildings to gain entry.

So far, the duo has been charged with theft by receiving stolen property with a multitude of burglary charges pending.

“There are possible links to other burglaries,” Foster said. “But we’re still working that end of the investigation.”

Foster said that the APD and Dougherty County Police worked closely along side the Georgia Lottery Corporation to discover the stolen lottery tickets.

Discovered in Thomas’ vehicle were several items ranging from cigarettes and cigars to a hammer, condoms and male sexual stimulants.

Foster urged local store owners to come forward with specific item information if anything has been stolen from their stores.

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