ATLANTA — Atlanta Police have made two arrests in the firebombing of an officer's home after weeks of investigation - and say the $23,000 reward helped make it possible.
"Everybody standing behind me, from ATF, Atlanta Fire Rescue, the Fulton County D.A.'s Office and ourselves want anyone to know that anyone that messes with an Atlanta Police Officer or a member of any portion of our team that there will be a reckoning for that," Major Crimes Commander Michael O'Connor said. "And that reckoning just occurred."
O'Connor said brothers Wesley and Quinton Wise were arrested in connection with the arson attack, which happened on June 26 on Betsy Avenue.
O'Connor said they paid another suspect, who hasn't yet been arrested, in drugs and money to throw the firebomb into the officer's home - someone they didn't want living on the street.
"The cost for this was simply a $100 slab of crack cocaine and $50 in cash," O'Connor said.
Police arrived around 3 a.m. that morning to find a "rock and some liquid" had been used to create a makeshift firebomb which was thrown through the kitchen window.
The officer, who wasn't home at the time, had just moved into the home which was in the neighborhood she patrols. Police quickly came to the conclusion that the attack was targeted.
They also believed it was tied to another arson on the same road months earlier. Police said that they now believe both homes were targeted by the Wise brothers, who ran a drug operation up the street.
"These two brothers basically ran the entire street," O'Connor said. "People were scared to tell on them, so they kind of ran this small section of the street and they had a fairly extensive, decent drug operation. I mean, they were making a living doing this."
Roughly a month later, the police department, fire department and district attorney's office worked together to raise a large reward for information leading to an arrest in the two cases. O'Connor said the reward led to a large number of tips.
"With those tips, and using traditional investigative means, we've been able to identify the people responsible for setting both of the fires," he said.
The arrests came after a lengthy investigation involving the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and a search warrant executed on Tuesday.
Wesley Wise was charged with first-degree arson, trafficking in cocaine, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Quinton was also charged with first-degree arson.
O'Connor said the reward will be paid out through Crime Stoppers once an indictment is made. But he said that the department is confident that will happen.
"We never stopped working on this case, we worked it diligently, the lead detective did a fantastic job with the assistance of multiple partners," O'Connor said. "There were a number of people who contributed to this success."
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