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Teen Arrested After Early Morning Crime Spree

Stolen Items Include 2 Cars, Handgun

Posted: 1:40 pm EDT October 6, 2008Updated: 6:50 pm EDT October 6, 2008

A teenager is in custody, suspected of stealing two vehicles, crashing one of them, breaking into several others and stealing a handgun.

Winder police said Monday that Waylon Robert Westbrooks, 17, of Kirby Circle in Braselton stole a 2006 F-150 pick up from a home on Shenandoah Lane between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. The vehicle was later involved in a serious motor vehicle accident on I-85 in Jackson County.

After the crash, Westbrooks then allegedly stole another vehicle from a driveway not far from the accident scene.

  • SLIDESHOW: Crashed Cars, Destruction Remain Following Crime Spree

  • Westbrooks is also suspected in a series of car break-ins overnight on Buena Vista Street and St. Ives Circle in Winder. According to police reports, the suspect stole a large caliber handgun in one of the break-ins.

    He was taken into custody after Jim Morgan, who owns a pawn shop, phoned police reporting a young man walked into his shop covered in blood. There was another young man and a woman with the suspect.

    Morgan tells Channel 2 the trio were trying to sell power tools, telling him they had been kicked out of the house and needed some money for rent. While Morgan inspected the tools, he heard the cash register and turned around to see one of the men stealing money.

    Morgan wrote down the trio's license plate and called 911. They were caught down the street at a gas station, handcuffed and taken to jail.

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