Sheriff’s Office hunts Stop and Go burglary suspects

TWIN — The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the burglary of the Stop and Go store located at the corner of State Highways 253 and 44 in Twin early on Saturday morning, May 17.
According to Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams, the call came in around 4:18 on Saturday morning that the store’s alarm was going off.
Guin police arrived on the scene, followed shortly after by deputies who observed the glass on the front door had been broken.
The store’s manager gave law enforcement access to footage from the store’s surveillance camera, which showed two male subjects approaching the store.
One used a sledgehammer to break the glass and make entry into the store. He entered the store briefly, approached the ATM but then left. The other subject retrieved the hammer and then left.
Williams said nothing from the store was taken or missing after the burglary.
Footage showed the suspects arrive in an older model silver Toyota Forerunner, which Williams said he believes has shown up in a similar incident at a store in Sulligent not that long ago.
“We’ve got one suspect we’re looking at out of these two individuals, maybe three with somebody driving the Forerunner,” Williams said. “We believe they are from the Tuscaloosa County area. We’re trying to identify them now. I think the same vehicle has been spotted in other areas, like in Sulligent on camera when a similar incident happened down there, but they were not able to get into the building.
“We’re looking, we’ve got some pretty good ideas and we’re hopeful we can get this solved, and we appreciate any of the public’s assistance. It’s looking like it’s not going to be somebody from Marion County.”
Williams said stores like this are often targeted due their distance from cities with police presence, but technology can help even the odds.
“A lot of our incidents are from people coming off of I-22, but these look like they came up from Tuscaloosa County,” Williams said. “Sometimes you never know. These types of crooks are looking for businesses like this that are secluded in rural areas.
“Thankfully most businesses and houses have updated cameras, and we’re able to solve a lot of issues with those. Flock cameras are useful, and we’re trying to get more in the county and the area.”
Flock cameras are a system of cameras that register vehicle information, such as license plate numbers, that can help law enforcement locate cars that have been flagged in the system for one reason or another.
Recently, these cameras allowed Hamilton and Hackleburg police to locate and recover a stolen car in less than an hour.