ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
Laptops of different colors and brands, lawn mowers - some old and new - bicycles, cameras and more were all items Atlanta police said they found inside a house on Mozley Place in southwest Atlanta.
"Through our investigation it was revealed that there was a particular home where Ms. Beverly Barnes was taking in items that were stolen and giving cash in return to some of the local homeless people. Some of the people, we believe, were responsible for a lot of burglaries in the area," said Atlanta Police Lt. Jeff Baxter.
Police arrested Beverly Barnes, 62, and charged her with theft by receiving and maintaining a disorderly home.
They issued an arrest warrant and are searching for 26-year old Shawn Wilson.
"Shawn Wilson is one of the individuals we discovered was bringing items to Ms. Barnes in return for money," said Baxter.
Baxter told CBS Atlanta thieves stole the items from homes they broke into in the Mozley Park area during the past three months.
"It was known to them that they can take these items to this location (Barnes' home) and get some money for them," Baxter said.
CBS Atlanta went to Barnes' home to ask the Tough Questions, but a man who identified himself as Travis said Barnes was not there.
"It's not what it seems. We're not running around here stealing stuff like that. It's just a misunderstanding," Travis said.
But police said there's no misunderstanding. Officers found more than 100 stolen items inside Barnes' home.
"We had people in the neighborhood come up and thank us because they knew what was going on at the house. For whatever reason, they were scared to come forward," said Baxter.
Police want to get those items back to their rightful owners. If items were stolen from your home or car within the past three months in the Mozley Park area, call Atlanta Police Zone 1 Burglary Squad at 404-799-2487.
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