Release:

In recent weeks, detectives from both the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and the Valdosta Police Department have been jointly investigating the theft of vehicle parts, including transmissions, a four wheel drive transfer case, drive shafts, headlamps, stereo equipment, wheels, tires and other items from various automotive repair shops in Valdosta and Lowndes County. In one incident, an employee of the business was physically assaulted.  (More information on that incident is available from the Valdosta Police Department) During this joint investigation, detectives identified a suspect, Johnathan Orr and on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 detectives from the Valdosta Police Department, Brooks County Sheriff’s Office, Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and officers from the Georgia Department of Community Supervision went to Orr’s Ellenburg Road {Brooks County} residence where they recovered multiple stolen automotive parts from the property. With the recovery of the property, and evidence obtained during the investigation, Johnathan Orr was charged with multiple counts of theft by taking as well as possession of stolen property in Brooks County.  More charges are likely as the investigation progresses.

Sheriff Ashley Paulk commented not only about this investigation but the overall working relationship between the Sheriff’s Office and the Valdosta Police Department; “There is no doubt the cooperative efforts of Chief Leslie Manahan, the Valdosta Police Department, the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Community Supervision and the Sheriff’s Office certainly led to the identification of this offender and ultimately led his arrest.”  “It is exactly this type work that aids in the recovery and return of victim’s stolen property and highlights the continuous working relationship between the agencies.”