Winder Man Arrested in Connection with Thefts

Several cases involving the theft of cooking oil were resolved this week with the arrests of a 30-year-old Winder man and a 19-year-old woman.

Jason Dehart and Jessica Edgar are facing numerous charges in connection with thefts at Five Guys on Buford Drive, and three restaurants on Hamilton Mill Road: Friends House Chinese, Famous Joes and La Ma Chaci. The pair has also been charged with similar incidents in Jackson and Barrow counties.

The first Gwinnett incident occurred on Jan. 26 at Famous Joes restaurant. The other four incidents took place on Feb. 6. According to police, Dehart and Edgar drove a pickup truck equipped with a plastic 300-gallon tank and pump to each of the locations. The suspects are accused of pulling up to the outdoor storage tanks and pumping the used cooking oil into the tank.

The Famous Joes cooking oil tank is maintained by Darling International Inc. The company recovers used cooking oil to be processed into bio-diesel fuel. Darling International employees worked with police investigators to provide information on the suspects. GCPD detectives also worked with officers and investigators from Barrow County, Jackson County and the City of Braselton.

Dehart was taken into custody on March 8 and charged with five counts of criminal trespass, ten counts of theft by taking and five counts of possession of tools for the commission of a theft. Edgar, who was served with warrants while incarcerated in the Jackson County jail on similar charges, is charged with five counts of criminal trespass.