Henry Daily Herald

Regis Gibson

An 18-year-old man was caught in the act of an alleged burglary of a vacant McDonough home.

Regis Jamahl Gibson appeared before Henry County Magistrate Court Judge Robert Godwin Thursday. Gibson is charged with burglary, possession of tools for the commission of a crime, and theft by taking. Judge Godwin set his bond at $25,000, and bound the case over to Henry County Superior Court.

The incident took place on Wednesday, after 8 p.m., on Winston Trace, in McDonough. McDonough Police Officer M. Augustine spoke with a neighbor in the subdivision. The man told the officer he heard noises coming from the empty house.

“When he came outside to see what the noise was, he observed the air conditioning unit’s pipes were being pulled into the house,” said Officer Augustine, in the police report. The neighbor called police to report the crime.

McDonough Police Sgt. P. Honcharik noticed the back door of the residence had been forced opened. Sgt. Honcharik and Officer Augustine were in the process of “clearing” the house, when Augustine found Gibson hiding in the back bedroom closet, with a bookbag that contained a screwdriver.

The suspect was also found with a light, that police said, belonged to one of the neighbors, according to the police report.

A tire iron was found at the back door that police believe the suspect used to pry the door open. A piece of copper pipe also was found.

“We were able to quickly apprehend this suspect in the act, because of the attentiveness of one of our citizens,” said McDonough Detective R. Gardner.

Gibson remained in the Henry County Jail at press time, Thursday.