Police arrest teen suspected to be part of crew who broke into 70 cars in Cobb County

A 19-year-old Marietta man has been arrested in connection to a string of 70 car break-ins in Marietta

neighborhoods over the past five weeks.

The incidents happened at random locations, typically one night each.

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A crew of thieves broke into vehicles stealing valuables including at least three firearms.

Police say Christopher Emerson was part of that crew.

After identifying the suspect, police obtained search warrants for his home last week.

“With that search, we were able to find a treasure trove of items that were stolen. We found a large number of credit cards, debit cards as well a large amount of trafficked cocaine, so the individual was operating outside the bounds of normal conventional thinking,” Marietta Police Public Information Officer Chuck McPhilamy told Channel 2′s Tom Regan .

Police say Emerson committed the car break-ins while out on bond after committing similar crimes earlier this year.

“The same suspect that you have the photo of now, was arrested by our same agency in February in correlation to another string of over 30 break-ins that occurred,” McPhilamy said.

A resident of a neighborhood where several break-ins happened recently said he was shocked.

“There was glass everywhere. That’s crazy because I’ve been here for many years, and nothing like that has ever happened here.” neighbor Reggie Myers said.

Police say Emerson now faces 18 felony charges in connection with the recent break-ins, in addition to past charges.

He is being held without bond in the Cobb County Detention Center.

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