Early Thursday morning, June 10, 2004, at 1:15 AM Deputies responding to a burglar alarm at the Golden Pantry on Browns Bridge Road discovered that the front door had been smashed in and the cash register had been stolen.
A witness provided deputies with a description of the perpetrator’s vehicle enabling deputies to be on the lookout for a Black, 2-door Toyota pickup truck, with a broken window.
Shortly after the lookout was broadcast deputies spotted the truck on McEver Road. Deputies pulled the vehicle over near Oakwood Industrial Park, there the passenger jumped out of the truck and fled on foot as the driver drove off.
Deputies followed the truck approximate 1mile to Silverthorne Subdivision where the driver also jumped out of the truck and fled on foot.
Deputies, with the assistance of Oakwood & Gainesville P.D. were able to apprehend Arnold B Light, age 44, of Lawrenceville. Mr. Light was transported to the Hall County Detention Center and charged with 1 count of Burglary for the break-in at the Golden Pantry.
A computer check revealed that the truck had been stolen from Lawrenceville. Deputies also recovered cash, lottery tickets and the store register.
The search continues for the second perpetrator described only as a black male and last scene near Silverthorne Subdivision.
The incident remains under investigation by the Hall County Sheriff's Office, Criminal Investigations Division.
1st Lieutenant Jeff Strickland
Uniform Patrol Division
Hall County Sheriff's Office