Man, woman plead not guilty in series of Columbus business burglaries

A man and woman allegedly committed at least three Columbus business burglaries within the past month and exchanged some of the stolen items for either money or drugs, according to testimony in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

Madison Elizabeth Reese, 22, and Taquawn Rodriquez Pollard, 42, were identified as the suspects in the series of late December burglaries. They pleaded not guilty to related charges during two separate hearings held Thursday and Friday morning.

Columbus Police Detective Joseph Austin said someone broke into a business at 7160 Moon Road and attempted to burglarized the one next door around 11 p.m. Sunday.

A surveillance video allegedly showed a man later identified as Pollard walk to the front door of Parkway Liquor Store and strike the door window with the handle of a door jack, but the window didn’t shatter.

“He has a separate individual with him during this incident,” Austin testified. “That person begins to break into the door of the Chevron gas station located on Moon Road. Because he couldn’t get into the liquor store, he goes down and proceeds to help the other person break at the window of the Chevron.”

Police said Pollard and the second individual stole cigarettes, lottery tickets, and batteries from the gas station before fleeing in a blue 2014 Chevy Spark. That second person later was identified as Reese, authorities confirmed.

Austin said another surveillance video shows Pollard arriving at the Bottle Shop at 101 Southern Way with Reese on Tuesday in the blue Chevy. Pollard allegedly used the same tool to break the door window and steal more than $600 worth of alcohol.

The co-defendants burglarized the Advanced Auto Parts at 4933 Hamilton Road later that day, authorities said.

Columbus Police Sgt. Lance Deaton said the Chevron Food Mart at 4640 Warm Springs Road was burglarized between 2 and 3 a.m. Wednesday. When officers arrived on the scene, they noticed the door had been shattered and several items had been stolen from behind the counter.

“This store, along with several other stories in the city and in surrounding counties, have been having break-ins,” Deaton said. “Several of the stories have upgraded their video systems, and we’ve also added patrols in the area of these businesses.”

Surveillance video at Chevron showed Pollard going into the store and stealing items before fleeing in the Chevy, according to police.

“When Mr. Pollard commits these crimes, he does not cover his face,” Deaton testified.

An alert was issued for the vehicle. An officer said he spotted the vehicle later that Wednesday night slowly circling closed businesses, so he attempted to perform a traffic stop.

The driver, who was identified as Pollard, fled and wrecked in the area of 55th Street and Veterans Parkway. Reese was identified as the passenger in the vehicle.

Deaton said Pollard escaped, but Reese was located on the scene. She allegedly ran from the car on foot, but police arrested her in the area.

“During the interview, Ms. Reese did admit to being a passenger in the vehicle during this burglary,” said Deaton, who told the court she was the lookout. “She also made some statements in regards to some other incidents in which she was involved.”

Reese was charged with three counts of second-degree burglary and obstruction and transported to the Muscogee County Jail.

Austin said they discovered the Chevy was registered to Pollard’s girlfriend, Angelia Sue Mack. She reported the vehicle had been stolen when it had not, according to police.

She was taken into custody that same day and charged with false report of a crime.

Deaton said they were searching the vehicle when they discovered a duffle bag containing items taken during the burglaries, including cigarettes, cold medicine and lottery tickets.

“All these items that he is observed in the video removing were located in the vehicle, minus several items that we believe he either sold or traded for narcotics after the actual burglary,” Deaton told the court.

Officials said they located Pollard the next day at his mother’s home, where he was hiding beneath a bed. In that same room, officials found what they believe to be Nike shoes stolen from a local business, suspected cocaine residue, a smoking device, one Ecstasy pill and a small bag containing about 2 grams of marijuana.

Pollard was taken into custody on four counts of second-degree robbery, three counts of possession of a tool during the commission of a crime and one count of criminal attempt second-degree burglary, possession of drug-related objects, possession of Ecstasy and possession of marijuana.

Austin said Reese and Pollard were the only two involved in the cases presented during Thursday and Friday’s hearings, but there were two more people involved in other crimes Reese and Pollard might have committed. Officials said Friday morning they have not positively identified those two suspects.

“That’s still under investigation,” Austin told the court.

Reese and Pollard were ordered held in the Muscogee County Jail.

She was granted bonds totaling $15,250. He was denied bond on the attempted burglary and burglary charges, but granted bonds totaling $10,500 on the others.

Judge Michael Joyner bound the case over to Superior Court.

This story was originally published December 31, 2016 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Man, woman plead not guilty in series of Columbus business burglaries."