Multi-jurisdictional Effort Leads to Arrest of Auto Theft Suspects in Gwinnett County

On March 7, 2024, Gwinnett County Police detectives, aided by the Fulton County SWAT Team, conducted a successful operation leading to the arrest of Kylijah Devon Yates, 23, of East Point. Multiple firearms, ammunition, and stolen property linked to entering auto incidents in Gwinnett County were seized. Yates faces charges including Entering Auto, Theft by Taking, and Aggravated Assault.

Following Yates’s arrest, detectives pursued Randy Daniel Martinez, 24, also from East Point. Martinez had been identified as a suspect in September 2023. On September 26, 2023, detectives charged him with 37 Entering Automobile Felony warrants relating to entering auto incidents that occurred on August 31 alone. At the time, the location of Martinez was unknown.

Through a series of multiple investigative methods, detectives determined that Martinez had fled metro Atlanta and was in the area of Kissimmee, Florida. Investigators from Gwinnett County Police contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Office’s Fugitive Squad to assist with the location and apprehension of Martinez.

Deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s office located Martinez who had over 100 active warrants, including charges of Aggravated Assault and Motor Vehicle Theft, and took him into custody without incident

Authorities seek assistance in locating two additional suspects: Giovanni Bell, 27, and Emmanuel Chavarria Ornelas, 24, both from East Point. Bell faces 11 counts of Entering Auto and one count of Motor Vehicle Theft from incidents in July 2023, while Ornelas is charged with 18 counts of Entering Auto from March 7, 2024.

Anyone with information on Bell or Ornelas should contact GCPD detectives at (770) 513-5300 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (404) 577-TIPS (8477).

These arrests follow an earlier multi-agency effort leading to the capture of Javaris Gamble, 22, on August 31, 2023, for his involvement in over 400 Entering Auto and Motor Vehicle Theft crimes in Gwinnett County and the Metro Atlanta area.