Arrest Made in String of Burglaries

A Toccoa man faces a host of charges in connection to multiple alleged burglaries around Stephens County.

Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley said his office arrested 28-year-old Joshua Cole Harrison of Sunset Road in Toccoa last week.

Shirley said Harrison is responsible for at least 13 residential burglaries in Stephens County.

“He would remove the power meter from the home and forcibly enter the residence,” said Shirley. “He would then methodically remove the house wiring from the fuse box, walls, and attic. He would also remove the copper tubing from the plumbing.”

Shirley said in most cases, the damage would cost the homeowners several thousand dollars to replace wiring and plumbing and repair the damages.

The sheriff said Harrison would then carry the copper wiring and tubing to local recycle companies, where he would receive less than $100 per transaction.

According to Shirley, authorities have records of at least 31 transactions between Harrison and the scrap yards.

Shirley said deputies were beginning to accumulate evidence pointing them towards Harrison, including the amount of copper he was recycling, being spotted in the area of the burglaries, and through witness interviews.

He said it was then that authorities received a big break in the case.

“A home owner that reported his home recently burglarized furnished investigator with still pictures and video from ‘game cams’ that he had placed around his residence,” said Shirley. “The cameras captured an individual, later identified as Joshua Harrison, in the ‘act’.”

The sheriff said Harrison was charged with 12 counts of Burglary in the First Degree, one count of Burglary in the Second Degree, 11 counts of Felony Criminal Damage to Property, and a misdemeanor Theft By Taking.

At last report, he remained in the Stephens County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

Shirley says the investigation is ongoing.