OAKWOOD, Ga. — A multi-jurisdictional investigation is underway that is tied to a couple who police allege are part of an organized crime group that travels the country committing various types of thefts and fraud.
Police executed a search warrant at the accused couple’s home in Gwinnett County on Monday. A man was arrested during the operation, but Oakwood Police said they’d still been unable to apprehend his accomplice, Maria Antonescu.
Police said this is all tied to a series of thefts at AT&T stores across the state and in Tennessee that have been carried out in the past several months.
On March 15, Oakwood Police officers were dispatched to an attempted theft at the AT&T store on Mundy Mill Road. Once on scene, officers spoke with employees who said they recognized the couple from an internal AT&T BOLO -- identifying them as suspects in a series of thefts at stores across the state.
Police said the actions match in each case, with a woman walking in and distracting the employees while a man swipes the phones.
In a video released to 11Alive from Oakwood Police of the March 15 attempted theft, a woman, who police say is Antonescu, can be seen walking in and immediately engaging with the employees. A few seconds later, her partner is seen walking in and going toward a Titanium iPhone 15Pro.
Oakwood Police Sgt. Stewart Wood said the couple is believed to have obtained two keys that could unlock the display cases inside the AT&T stores.
The video also shows the accused man at the phone display, messing with the case, but after a few seconds, he walks away and eventually leaves the store.
During this time, the employees can be seen pulling out their phones and taking pictures of the couple.
Sgt. Webb said the alert employees quickly caught on and realized the couple looked to be the same one from their internal BOLO sent out by AT&T corporate. Once the couple realized they’d been identified, they quickly left.
One of the responding Oakwood Police Officers, Officer Joseph Henderson, is credited with helping break this case wide open. He said that on the day of the call, there were some mixed-up witness statements, so he decided to return the next day to try to track down some video from nearby businesses.
Officer Henderson said he was able to find a video of the suspect’s car, and by using their FLOCK camera system, they were able to identify the license plate and trace it back to the couple.
“It’s amazing to believe something so simple as someone trying to take a phone could turn into such a big investigation,” Officer Henderson said.
Sgt. Webb said they’re now working with multiple agencies, including federal law enforcement, to determine how many crimes the couple is accused of committing -- not only in Georgia and Tennessee but possibly across the country.
Any agency that may have incidents relating to this case or information on Maria Anton Antonescu’s whereabouts is asked to call Sgt. Webb at 770-534-2364 or by email at swebb@oakwoodpd.net.