Thursday, May 25, 2017

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- Richmond County deputies say they want to question a man in reference to a burglary at the Apple Store last month.

Deputies say Brent Partridge, 24, is wanted for questioning for the April 16th burglary at the Apple Store in Augusta.

Any information concerning this suspect, please contact Inv. Ferguson, or any Property Crimes Investigator at the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (706) 821-1020 or 821-1080.

News 12 NBC 26 News At 11 | Wednesday, April 19, 2017

UPDATE | 11:45 p.m.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- It was a coordinated crime and Apple technology was the target.

It happened Sunday night at the Apple store at the Augusta Mall and people nearby could not believe what they were witnessing. Cell phone video caught at least six people running in and out of the store on Easter night before getting away.

The search and investigation continues, but witnesses say the damage is already done.

It's the kind of rush you might see on Black Friday. But there's nothing festive or even legal about this scene on Easter night.

Seven men in ski masks are caught on camera running out with arms and bags full of stolen Apple gear. Joseph Welsh was waiting for a cab outside the Barnes and Noble Sunday night with some friends when he saw three cars pull up.

"We see the Apple Store door open up and kind of fall outwards," Welsh says. "I walked over there, had my phone out, seen seven guys run out with trash bags."

That's when he called deputies and told his girlfriend to hit record. He says by the time they were gone, there was barely anything left inside.

"They stole just about the entire store," Welsh says. "I mean, the only thing they didn't touch was the accessories and I think they dropped a trash bag full of iPhones."

He says other folks were too afraid to approach them and deputies didn't get there fast enough to stop them. The cars got away after leading police on two separate chases.

"I mean, if they see there's a possible threat, they're going to get scatterbrained," Welsh says. "They're going to speed up and make mistakes. Which, their mistake was, you know, let's go into a store with a billion cameras and try to take everything."

He just wants to see these thieves brought to justice before another store gets hit with this kind of shopping spree.

"It's a crappy situation," Welsh says. "You know, stuff like this shouldn't be happening while the guys that are trying to figure this out are scrambling to figure out what's what, what's not."

The incident report shows the thieves broke into the store by smashing the front door and rushing inside. Those suspects are still not in custody.

Apple is working with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division and hope the video helps catch the thieves. There is no word yet on how much merchandise was stolen or how much it's all worth.

News 12 NBC 26 reached out to Apple for comment, but have yet to hear back.