Hiram Man Facing Charges in Alabama

A Hiram man is facing a list of charges from authorities more than 200 miles away from Paulding County.

According to a news release obtained at the request of Dallas-Hiram Patch, officials with the Dothan Police Department in Dothan, Ala., on Monday announced the arrest of an alleged theft ring comprised of eight males—three of them juveniles—that came as the result of an investigation into multiple reports of breaking and entering of vehicles, many of them unlocked.

Among the five men arrested was 23-year-old Joshua Andrew Guy. The Hiram resident was charged with seven counts of unlawful breaking and entering of a vehicle, two counts of second-degree burglary and two counts of third-degree burglary, with bonds totaling $32,500. Guy was charged in connection to crimes committed this month and last month.

Including Guy’s 11 charges, the eight so far face 29 counts of unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle, four counts of second-degree burglary, six counts of third-degree burglary and two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card.

Additional charges regarding crimes involving acts of violence were filed after some of the suspects working together in the theft ring acted violently towards one another in an attempt to seize stolen goods from one another. Two of the eight men arrested— Jerrold McLeod and Cordelius Sol, both from Alabama—each face two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of first-degree kidnapping. According to the Dothan Eagle, those charges stem from the abduction and attack of Guy and another victim.

“They were all in it together,” Dothan Police Sgt. Clark Allums told the newspaper. “There were just some arguments over property, that’s how the violence began.”

Dothan Police utilized patrolmen, investigators and members of a specialty response team to investigate the break-ins and increase presence of law enforcement in targeted areas. The department also requested and received assistance from the Dale County Sheriffs Office and the Wiregrass Violent Crimes Task Force. As a result of the agencies’ efforts, the eight arrests were made.

Dothan, Ala., is about a four-hour drive southwest from Hiram.