Cops: Familiar getaway car leads to burglary arrests
Mar. 8—Police say a man's recent rash of storage facility break-ins came to an end last week when a county patrol officer recognized his getaway car in front of a Blythe Island residence.
As officers prepared to close in on the home at 7377 Blythe Island Highway on Thursday, David Edward Wood allegedly stepped into view from a shed on the property. Police nabbed Wood without incident.
Wood, 50, remained Monday in the Glynn County Detention Center, charged with 11 counts of second degree burglary.
Police also recovered a significant amount of suspected items stolen during the break-ins, police said.
Police held and questioned another suspect at the residence, but he has not been charged, police said.
Police said Wood allegedly is responsible for a plethora of recent burglaries at self-storage facilities throughout Glynn County. In 2022 alone, nearly 30 burglaries have been reported at local storage facilities and commercial buildings, police said.
Burglars have hit storage units at Altama Storage on the Scranton Connector, American Mini-Storage on Center Drive, Coastal Mini-Storage on Community Road, Southern Hardware on U.S. 82 and Southport Self-Storage on U.S. 17, police said. The burglars cut the storage unit's locks, reports indicate.
While investigating a burglary reported Wednesday at American Mini-Storage, police were able to get a good look at the business's security video of a suspicious vehicle entering the property at about the time of the break-in. Investigators passed the video around to all patrol officers.
An officer whose regular patrol includes Blythe Island recognized the vehicle right off when he saw the video Thursday. The officer had noticed the parked vehicle regularly at the Blythe Island Highway address.
The vehicle was there when patrol officers and detectives descended on the property Thursday, police said.
It turns out, Wood already was a person of interest in other area burglaries, police said. During questioning at police headquarters, Wood allegedly "confessed to multiple storage unit burglaries," police said.
Armed with search warrants, investigators and crime scene technicians confiscated numerous valuables that may have been stolen during the burglaries, police said.
Police continue to investigate and other charges are possible.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Glynn County Police investigations division at 912-554-7802, or Silent Witness hotline at 912-264-1333. Those with information can also directly message the police department's social media platforms, such as Facebook, or email gcpdcrimetips@glynncounty-ga.gov.
Police encourage folks using storage units to check in on their locations frequently, photograph expensive items and record items' serial numbers. Identifiers such as initials or the last four social security numbers can be written on items without serial numbers.
