Crime & Safety

Man Blames Financial Hardship for Tag Theft

Flowery Branch man initially claimed he did not know how the tag got on his vehicle.

A Flowery Branch man had a difficult time trying to explain to a Gwinnett County Police officer how a tag registered to a gray Toyota Avalon ended up on his maroon Dodge Dakota pickup.

A GCPD officer was patrolling near the Mall of Georgia on April 5 when the license plate reader in the patrol car registered a stolen license plate alert. The officer followed the pickup truck on which the tag was displayed onto I-85 northbound.

"The driver made multiple lane changes while on I-85," the officer wrote in the arrest report. "The driver continually attempted to position another motorist between my vehicle and his."

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The vehicle, driven by Brain Reeves, 34, of Flowery Branch, exited at Hamilton Mill Road and turned left. The officer followed and initiated a traffic stop near the intersection of Hamilton Mill Road and Sardis Church Road.

According to the report, the officer approached the Reeves and asked for his license.

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"He opened up his wallet and I saw an empty space where the wallet had been designed to hold an ID or license," the officer noted. "The driver began fumbling through his credit cards as if to look for a license."

As Reeves searched for his license, the officer asked about the tag.

"The driver immediately stopped fumbling through his wallet and looked straight ahead. I observed the driver deeply swallow, watching his 'Adam's Apple' move," the officer wrote.

Reeves did not respond to the question. The officer asked again about the plate and, according to the report, Reeves acted as if he did not understand the question. When asked where he obtained the license plate that was displayed on his truck, Reeves reportedly said he did not know and did not put the plate on the truck.

The officer informed Reeves he was under arrest for being in possession of a stolen plate. As Reeves was being escorted into the backseat of the patrol car, he reportedly made a "spontaneous utterance" that things had been financially tight. After being read his Miranda Rights and agreeing to speak with the officer, Reeves admitted taking the tag off a vehicle parked at the Oakwood Walmart.

A check of the vehicle identification number on Reeves' truck indicated the registration had been suspended and the vehicle was not insured. The officer also determined that Reeves' driver's license had been suspended and served.

Reeves' vehicle was impounded and the tag was placed into evidence. 

Reeves was booked into the jail on charges of driving while license suspended or revoked, failure to maintain insurance, operating a vehicle with suspended, canceled or revoked registration, using a license plate to conceal identification and theft by receiving. 

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