GBC Police Make Burglary Arrests

Press release

On Dec. 8, between 4:30 and 5 a.m., Gun Barrel City Police Officers Zach Kennedy and Kevin Lewis responded to an alarm at 2503 West Main (Cut Rate Liquor Store) in Gun Barrel City. Upon arrival officers determined that a window in the front of the store had been broken and it appeared that unknown suspects had made entry, however, no one was in or around the store at that time.
Contact was made with an employee of the store who later came to the location and met with officers. An immediate investigation was launched, by Kennedy and Lewis, into the incident. Kennedy canvased the immediate area for suspects and located 17-year-old Efrain Perez and 17-year-old Anthony Malone, both of Gun Barrel City, nearby. Both Malone and Perez were wet and had wads of money on them suspected, by Kennedy, to have come from Cut Rate.

Both Malone and Perez were detained pending further investigation. The Cut Rate employee who was contacted earlier in the investigation arrived and determined that multiple cartons of cigarettes, a case of beer as well as cash money was missing from the store. Kennedy interviewed both Malone and Perez during his investigation, at which time, one of them confessed to the burglary and implicated the other one. The obtained confession led to the recovery of a majority of the stolen property which was later returned to the store.

Based upon Officers Kennedy and Lewiss observation of the suspects at the time they were located, the money that was located in their possession at that time, and information gathered from the obtained confession, both Malone and Perez were later arrested for the Burglary and booked into the Gun Barrel City Jail.

During the investigation, enough information was gathered to tie both Malone and Perez to two prior Burglaries at the same location reported in November and July of this year. Charges will be filed at large on both Malone and Perez for their involvement in those Burglaries as well.