1 arrested, 2 others on the run after CVS smash-and-grab

ATLANTA — Atlanta police are looking for two suspects who tried to smash a truck through a southwest-side pharmacy.

Police captured one man after a brief chase.

Investigators said the crime began just before 6 a.m. Tuesday at a home on Boulevard.

Matthew Battise said he left his truck running but locked it as he went inside his home. A few moments later, he heard breaking glass and his truck speeding down the street.

While he was still talking to 911 dispatchers, another call came in that his truck was being used to ram through the front of a CVS on Cascade Road.

Channel 2's Tony Thomas was with Battise as he looked at his truck for the first time at an Atlanta tow yard.

"I guess he lost control right here when he hit this side," Battise said. "See them, the bricks in the back from the CVS, where they backed it in to the CVS."

His Chevy truck has several major dents in it and a cellphone Battise believes is the thief's, remains in the front seat.

Workers spent Tuesday trying to repair the front of the CVS as investigators looked over surveillance video trying to identify the remaining suspects.

Police said they captured the suspected thief, Sydarius Andrews, a short distance from the CVS after a brief chase. He dove out of the truck after it crashed into some parked vehicles and mailboxes. Two other people escaped.

"The evidence shows they may have been around the cigarettes at the time but nothing shows us they were able to get away with anything," said Atlanta police Maj. Rodney Bryant.

Bryant said the number of smash-and-grab attempts in the city had been on the decline, but recently police are noting another spike in the crime.

Andrews remains at the Fulton County Jail, charged with 11 different crimes ranging from burglary to carjacking.

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WSBTV