Two Suspects Nabbed in “Rooftop” Burglary Cases

Two men have been taken in, charged with five of the so-called “rooftop” burglaries of Norcross businesses. Police are investigating the suspects’ involvement in other similar cases.  

Cpl. Jake Smith of the Gwinnett County Police Department said a string of burglaries began in unincorporated Norcross in January, all with a common method of entering the shops: through air conditioning units or rooftop cooking vents.

From Jan. 26 to Feb. 22, five more shops were broken into in a similar way on Jimmy Carter Blvd. Images captured on security cameras showed the robbers wearing similar, distinctive clothing, according to police.

After seeing news reports about these incidents, several anonymous callers reached out to detectives, leading them to 23-year-old Dontiez Pendergrass and 18-year-old Libirio Carlisle. The suspects’ Green Hill Dr. address was near the place officers had previously given chase to three suspicious individuals last week, one wearing clothing that was a close match to that seen in the camera footage, according to Smith. 

Gwinnett County Police learned that Pendergrass had outstanding warrants from another case, according to the police release. 

When the SWAT team approached the residence to carry out their search, they learned that Pendergrass has just left in a car, which was later pulled over. Pendergrass attempted to run away from the police on foot but was located and arrested with the help of K-9 and Aviation units.

Police found Carlisle inside the home, along with tools they think could have been used in the burglaries and clothing they recognized from surveillance footage.

The burglary cases that have been resolved are: Omely Café, La Confianza Carniceria, Carmelitas Mexicana grocery store, El Tapatio Supermercado and Han Café.