1 woman, 3 men arrested in Spring Hill following separate construction theft incidents
According to officials, the first incident took place on Jan. 7 at a warehouse along Cleburne Road. Officers were reportedly sent to the area to respond to a burglary alarm. However, when they arrived, they found a cut lock and a pair of bolt cutters.
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Inside, officers said they discovered a work van filled with construction shingles. Moments were tense as law enforcement searched the large structure, which reportedly had many hiding places.
Minutes after their arrival, an officer spotted one of the alleged suspects with a thermal drone hiding in woods that were nearby. Police said the individual—later identified as a 25-year-old woman— surrendered without incident.
Another suspect —identified as a 43-year-old man— was seen coming out of the woods minutes later as police were clearing the scene. The SHPD added he was covered with dirt, appeared disoriented and was taken into custody after a small struggle.
The man and woman were both taken to the Maury County Jail to face numerous charges related to the warehouse break-in. SHPD Lt. Mike Foster said other jurisdictions may be interested in the duo.
'They just don't hit Spring Hill. Odds are they do this a lot and just got caught this time, which is why we work with other agencies to connect the dots and try to get them arrested and linked to other crimes,' Foster told News 2.
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Four days after the duo's arrest, the police department said they were called to another incident in the middle of snowstorm to chase down more suspected roofing thieves.
According to officials, the second incident occurred in the area of Deep Creek Road after a security guard at a construction site called police.
As seen on bodycam video, the security officer blocked in an older model Ford Ranger truck, which was loaded with stolen construction material.
Police said a search of the vehicle led to the recovery of roofing shingles and a loaded revolver on the front seat.
Thanks to fresh tracks in the snow, officers quickly found 35-year-old Jose Ayala from Nashville. The 35-year-old allegedly told police that he thought the job of removing shingles was legit until his partner began acting odd.
'How many shingles did you load up?' an officer asked Ayala.
'He was throwing them over the roof. Once he saw the light, he jumped and started yelling, 'Get in the car!' And I was like, 'What?' And, he was like, 'Get in the car, get in the car.' So, I get in the car and I was like, 'Bro, I thought you said they knew what we was doing,' Ayala told the officer. 'He started acting like that, just flipping out, and that's when I knew for sure we were not there doing the right thing.'
Not long after Ayala's arrest, police said they found the driver of the Ford —identified as 31-year-old Hector Palacios of Nashville.
Although the crimes are separate, Foster told News 2 they have similarities.
'We don't know if they're connected. We don't know if the crews were communicating with each other, part of a bigger crew or just out there doing their own thing,' he said.
Both Ayala and Palacios were taken into custody and taken to the Williamson County jail. Police added that the Ford Ranger was also reported as stolen.
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