Newton Citizen

COVINGTON - Aaron's Rental at 6204 U.S. Highway 278 was burglarized during the early morning hours Thursday, with the thieves making off with a 48-inch LCD TV worth nearly $2,000, according to the Covington Police Department.

There were two witnesses to the incident who told officers the culprits fled west on Interstate 20 in an older-model silver SUV. They were unable to give officers a description of the suspects, except to say they were wearing black, hooded shirts.

Rockdale County authorities were notified to be on the lookout for the vehicle, and Rockdale County Sheriff's Office deputies spotted the SUV as it continued driving west. They pursued the vehicle until it entered DeKalb County and at that time, they notified DeKalb authorities, who couldn't locate the suspect's SUV, according to a CPD incident report.

The report said the thieves entered the store by breaking the front glass door. Detectives are reviewing surveillance tape.

In other crime news, Newton County Sheriff's Office deputies were alerted to trouble at Scottish Tobacco located at 5430 Ga. Highway 20 when the store's alarm began sounding about 4 a.m. Sunday.

Deputies arrived to find the front door and side window of the establishment broken. It appeared thieves entered the store and took a quantity of cigarettes.

The store owner did not have an estimation of how much was taken at the time of the incident. Surveillance tape is being reviewed.

Barbara Knowles can be reached at barbara.knowles@newtoncitizen.com.