Multiple people are behind bars after a resident spotted his items for sale on Facebook Marketplace, which were stolen from his home in Coosawattee River Resort.
The Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office announced the breakthrough in the burglary investigation, related to multiple incidents within Coosawattee, on Thursday, April 17.
“We would like to add our sincere thanks to the burglary victim who recognized his stolen property being sold on Marketplace and immediately notified us,” GCSO commented on its Facebook post about the investigation.
Following the controlled purchase of stolen property on Facebook in early March, GCSO stated that detectives arrested one person for theft by receiving stolen property.
The investigation continued and multiple search warrants led to the recovery of items linked to at least three burglaries. Property from five separate burglaries dating back to September 2024 was also identified, according to GCSO.
Coosawattee residents Christina Fain, 37, Ronald Fain, 52, Frank Whitcomb, 38, Michael Laurens, 39, and Heath Copeland, 40, are facing burglary charges. They are being held at the Gilmer County Detention Center.
In an email sent to Coosawattee residents, the Board of Directors explained that one of the five arrested was an owner, two were living in a relative’s RV who’s an owner and one was an invitee of an owner in the neighborhood.
“The other was banned from this community, and an owner rented their RV deliberately to him to give him access,” the email stated. “He was banned from any common areas of CRRA, but legally, we could not deny access to the RV he rented. This happened about a week prior to him being arrested.”
The board is now looking at gate access systems to enhance security for their residents and is continuing to work with law enforcement to improve safety.
GCSO said that while many stolen items have been recovered, some are still missing that were sold or pawned. This is an ongoing investigation, with the potential of more arrests as detectives continue to execute search warrants and work to recover stolen property.