Three men have been arrested and a large cache of stolen goods recovered in connection with a suspected home burglary spree in Dawson and Murray counties.
The suspects, who are related, are being held in Dawson County Sheriff’s custody pending Superior Court bond hearings.
On Thursday, sheriff’s deputies reportedly caught two of the men, a father and son, taking measurements in a Hubbard Road log cabin that had been robbed in April.
Authorities say Jessie James Kilgore, 39, and Jessie Archie Kilgore, 19, returned to measure a cabinet for a microwave oven they had taken in April.
Dawson County Sheriff’s Lt. Tony Wooten said the men entered the home to collect appliances, furnishings and cabinetry for use in a house the elder Kilgore was building a few miles away on Toads Place.
They were arrested at the scene and later charged with multiple counts of burglary and firearm possession. Authorities say additional charges are possible in Dawson and nearby Murray County.
Sheriff’s Maj. John Cagle said at least one suspect has admitted to a similar burglary in Murray.
A third suspect, 33-year-old James Adams Rogers of Dawsonville, was arrested on Friday after authorities searched his home on Chumbley Road.
Wooten said at least one of the custom bed frames in Rogers’ house had been reported stolen from a Fausett’s Lake Road home earlier this year.
Wayne McPherson estimates more than $17,000 in furnishings was taken from his Hubbard Road cabin.
“The officers told me one of the light fixtures we bought with deer antlers was installed outside on [the suspects’] trailer,” McPherson said.
“I don’t know them, but I’ve probably seen them driving down the road or at the corner store,” he said. “They’re neighbors, living right down the street.”
Authorities estimated the investigation has turned up more than $25,000 in stolen goods, most of which has been returned to the homeowners.
“They’ve got most of our things back, but some of my things are damaged,” McPherson said. “The refrigerator is scratched up pretty bad. Some of it we’ll have to trash. I’m real proud of our sheriff’s office. They did a good job.”
Wooten said the department has increased patrols in high-theft areas while school is not in session.
“Summer is usually our busiest time for thefts and burglaries with the longer daylight hours,” he said.
Each of the three suspects, according to authorities, has criminal records.
Jessie James Kilgore has a previous felony theft conviction and Jessie Archie Kilgore was released from custody on felony charges in March, Wooten said.
James Adams Rogers, who is related to the men, is listed on Dawson County’s sex offender registry for a child molestation conviction in 1995.
E-mail Michele Hester at michele@dawsonnews.com.