MACON, Ga. — A Bibb County grand jury has indicted five people in a racketeering case that involves almost 60 burglaries.
According to a news release, the crimes are alleged to have happened between Dec. 23, 2019 and April 28, 2020.
The five suspects, identified as Frankie Barnes, 51, Cornelius Redding, 32, Marcus Robinson, 40, Antuane Simmons, 33, and Margo Watts, 31, are accused of breaking into 49 businesses -- some more than once -- to take cash and other property.
The news release says those businesses include restaurants, gas stations, retail stores, a car wash, hair salon, doctor’s office and more across Bibb County.
The five are charged with violating the RICO act.
Barnes, Redding, Robinson and Simmons are also charged with several counts of burglary in the second degree.
Barnes, Redding, Simmons and Watts also face charges of theft by receiving.
According to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, burglaries were down by a third after the five were arrested.
“Based on the allegations in the indictment, what started as a few pre-Christmas and Christmas burglaries turned into a county-wide crime spree that continued for months,” said District Attorney David Cooke.
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