East Ridge Police praised alert neighbors and fast police response times in foiling an attempted theft on Thursday.
At approximately 1:35 p.m., East Ridge Police responded to 1004 Hurst St. on a theft in progress. A neighbor called 911 and advised that two white males - one wearing a brown jacket and bald and the other wearing a blue shirt - fled the scene on foot after their vehicle had become stuck in the yard.
The first officer arrived on the scene in three minutes as other responding officers established a perimeter to locate the fleeing suspects.
The pair had removed an air conditioning unit from the outside of the home and loaded it into a Ford Explorer that had been pulled into the yard. As the suspects attempted to leave the scene the vehicle became stuck. The suspects then unloaded the air conditioner and again attempted to leave the scene in the vehicle, but were unsuccessful.
After this failed attempt, the suspects abandoned their vehicle and fled on foot. Officers who had established a perimeter located the suspects near the intersection of Holiday Drive and Floyd Drive, where they were taken into custody.
East Ridge Police Chief Eddie Phillips stated, “This is exactly the kind of crime prevention effort we are promoting citywide - an active neighborhood watch program coupled with a fast police response to stop thefts and burglaries. I’m very proud of both the alert citizen and our police officers involved in this incident.”
The suspects have been identified as Mitchell Frady, 30, of East Ridge and Kelly Blakemore, 30, of Rossville.
Both were charged with theft over $1,000 and vandalism.
They are scheduled to be in East Ridge Municipal Court on Tuesday at 5 p.m.