2 caught inside closed convenience store

A couple of men caught in the act of burglarizing a Maysville Road convenience store should work on their alibis.

When police responded to an alarm call at Cody Fuels at 5:48 a.m. on Monday, May 12, the responding officer saw Tyler Beltran, 22, 185 Meadowlark Way, Commerce, crouching in the store. He ordered the suspect to come out.

He was there, Beltran alleged, because his mother had kicked him out of his house and he had to go to the bathroom.

Beltran also alleged that a black pickup truck parked nearby was there when he arrived and that he was the only person in the building. But after the officer got backup, the police entered the store and found Douglas Matthew Lancaster, 26, of 315 Wintergreen Way, Commerce, hiding in the store. Lancaster also happened to be the owner of the black truck.

Lancaster’s story was that he was “hanging out” in the closed business because his truck had overheated and he went inside until the truck became operational.

The police report did not indicate that either man offered an explanation for how or why they happened to take respite at a closed and locked business.

Inside the truck, police found a clear plastic bag containing a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine. In the bed of the vehicle, police recovered two car headlights, a case of auto wipes, two three-way trouble lights, three tubes of auto grease and six nine-foot tape measures, all still in their original packaging and all identified by the store owner as having come from Cody Fuels. Police also recovered two yellow flashlights allegedly used by the suspects.

Police charged both men with burglary and violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act.