Four men were arrested in Fort Oglethorpe during an alleged burglary attempt. The men were arrested after a silent alarm notified police of intruders.

According to the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department:

Darius Lamaze Harrell, 28, Samuel Vandal Andrews, 31, Dankivon Ketavious Chatman, 27, and Justin Tyler Brown, 27, were arrested just before 7 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 7.

Harrell, Andrews, and Chatman were each charged with second-degree burglary, criminal attempt to commit burglary, tools for the commission of a crime, and obstruction of an officer.

Brown, who was located in a nearby vehicle, was charged only with loitering and prowling.

Officers received a burglary in progress call about 5:15 a.m. from the Comcast store at 1839 Ga. 2 (Battlefield Parkway), reports show.

“I responded to the back of the store and parked my vehicle about five doors down,” Lt. John McGrath said. “As I approached the store, the back door opened, and two black males came out.”

After ordering the men to “freeze,” McGrath says that the offenders took off back inside the store.

“They turned around, looked at me, and then fled back in the store, with the door locking behind them,” he said.

Following the confrontation behind the store, more officers arrived on the scene and assisted with chasing the suspects, who attempted to run away after exiting the store from the front, reports show.

The three men were caught shortly thereafter and returned to the scene.

The officers then began checking the area for additional suspects, with assistance from Catoosa County Sheriff's deputies, reports show.

“I advised officers to check the lot and the other stores at the Battlefield Center for any other evidence and or burglaries,” McGrath said. “We also had assistance in checking the area for possible lookouts or vehicles the offenders might be using.”

Justin Brown was then located on the lot of the Methodist Church. “The offender (Brown) was located in a rental vehicle that was rented to someone other to himself, and could not provide an answer as to who the vehicle was rented to and had no lawful reason for being on the lot,” McGrath said. “He (Brown) then spoke to detectives and was later placed under arrest for loitering and prowling.”

After all four men were arrested, officers and detectives continued their investigation of the scene and discovered that the men had entered more than just the one store.

“I went back to the Comcast store and discovered that the nearby door at 1837 Battlefield Parkway had also been damaged,” McGrath said. “The door was to the empty unit beside Comcast, and it had been pried open and entered.”

Officers were able to locate the tools the men used to enter the building, in addition to further damage to the building itself.

“I entered the building and found a pry bar or crow bar, and a sledge hammer in the floor of the back room,” McGrath said. “The wall had been knocked out, and I could see inside the Comcast store. There were pieces of insulation and dry wall all in the floor.”