GA Crime Spree Strikes Fastenal

Someone is breaking into Fastenal stores from Douglas County to Clarke County and beyond.

At least 16 stores from the Minnesota-based construction supply chain have been burglarized in Georgia and one in South Carolina in recent weeks in a spree that almost looks as if someone’s filling a shopping list, WSB-TV reported.

The value of the items stolen totals about $17,000, WSB said.

Stores have been hit in Marietta, Kennesaw, Lithia Springs, Cumming, Norcross, Lawrenceville, Tucker, Athens, Watkinsville and Augusta, among other Georgia cities, and the thief or thieves also struck Aiken, SC.

News reports also indicate Fastenal has been targeted from Ohio to Louisiana, The Augusta Chronicle said.

What's the deal with the Fastenal break-ins? Share your theories in the comments below.

Fastenal has nearly 2,600 stores selling fasteners, tools, office supplies and other construction equipment.

In addition to the burglarized stores, the six dozen Georgia locations include Alpharetta, Cartersville, Dallas, Suwanee, Winder and Woodstock. 

The company had sales of nearly $2.8 billion with growth of about 22 percent in 2011, so the thefts themselves aren’t a huge loss to Fastenal. But they have police stumped.

A surveillance camera caught a shadowy image of a man near the Marietta store around the time of the break-in there in early January, WSB reported, and Marietta police have taken the lead in the regional investigation.

In Watkinsville late Sunday or early Monday, a miter saw, a drill and more than 30 saw blades of various sizes were taken while more expensive items were skipped, Police Chief Lee O’Dillon told the Athens Banner-Herald.

In Athens during the same period, the culprits took only $60 worth of rolled coins, the Banner-Herald said.

The haul in Augusta over the weekend was three ladders, seven power tools and $160 in cash, The Augusta Chronicle said.

“It’s crazy,” Athens-Clarke County police Lt. Mike McKeel told the Banner-Herald. “I can’t think of any one company that (thieves) have seemingly targeted before like this.”