Shane Anthony Bell
Work by Bradley County Criminal Investigations and Patrol Divisions have cleared at least 11 recent car burglaries with charges against two adults and two female teenagers linked to separate investigations.
In late March patrol deputies responded to the area of Hollow View Drive to check a citizen's call of a suspicious vehicle observed prowling in the area.
Deputies’ initial response to the call found one of the girls hiding under the porch of a home in possession of items taken from one of the vehicles. The other girl was located some time later in the same area on foot.
The suspects were questioned by detectives about the thefts. Charges were filed in Juvenile Court for the two girls. Shane Bell,19, of Heritage Circle, was charged with three counts of vehicle burglary and three counts of theft under $500 in General Sessions Court.
In the other investigation, five additional auto burglaries have been cleared with new charges for Jonathan Lewis Lamar Meeks, 28, of Georgetown, who was already in custody at the Bradley County Judicial Center.
New charges for Meeks include five counts of auto burglary, one count of theft over $1,000, two counts of theft over $500, and two counts of theft under $500. Sheriff Watson announced Meeks’ arrest at a northwestern Cleveland motel on Thursday.
Sheriff Watson said when Meeks was taken into custody he was in possession of four loaded guns, all traced to recent burglaries in this area. He also was carrying a large amount of cash and attempted to evade officers, resulting in the use of a Taser to subdue him.
Meeks was initially charged on four outstanding charges, including aggravated burglary, burglary, forgery and illegal possession of/ fraudulent use of a credit card. He remains in jail without bond facing 30 different charges.
The sheriff credited cooperation between officers in clearing multiple incidents and return of the stolen property to owners. Referring to the multiple cases to be cleared, Sheriff Watson concluded, “One case always leads to another…and we are able to return many items to their owners.”
Jonathan Bell