Self-Storage Burglary in Dunwoody

From the Dunwoody Police:

On July 9, 2019 between 6:30PM and 7:45PM, two suspects forcefully entered approximately 20 interior storage units from the Public Storage facility located at 4340 Dunwoody Park South in Dunwoody and removed several items. Thanks to our detectives, a suspect was quickly identified and warrants were obtained for his arrest.

I wanted to leave you all with some safety tips for those of you that may have property at a self-storage facility:

Take an inventory of items in the storage unit. Try to write down and if possible, take a photo of all of your belongings in the storage units. If the item has a model and/or serial number, be sure to write that information down so that if your item happens to get lost or stolen, you will be able to report these items.

Try not to store anything super valuable. As a general rule, if you can’t afford to lose it, you probably shouldn’t be putting it in your storage unit. Self storage always come with a risk – albeit a small one – that items will get damaged, lost or stolen. To be safe, find an alternative way to house art, jewelry, family heirlooms, personal documents and other valuable items that you don’t want to take any chances with.

Do purchase insurance. Check to see if your renters or homeowners insurance covers personal property in storage. If it doesn’t already, you may be able to add it on or purchase a separate storage insurance plan through the insurance company or the storage company. It’s good peace of mind to have extra protection just in case, especially since if you didn’t care about the items in your unit, you probably wouldn’t be going through the trouble of storing them in the first place.

Don’t share your key or access code. Be wise about who you share access to your unit with. Always use your best judgment, and never allow someone into your unit unless you already know that you trust them around your belongings. Storage units – or more specifically, the items within them – have a lot of value for people with bad intentions. Unless it’s a person you know and trust, you shouldn’t be letting anyone in.

Do purchase a strong lock. In the same vein as the advice above, be smart when it comes to securing your unit. If you’re working with a storage company that requires you to supply your own lock, spend a little bit of extra money to get a sturdy lock that can’t be easily tampered with. Even storage facilities with cameras and on-site staff can’t completely prevent something from happening, so rest easy by putting a lock on there that you don’t have to worry about.

Please go over these safety tips and share them with the residents in your community. I have also attached the WANTED posting of the burglary suspect below. Feel free to shoot me an email at anwar.sillah@dunwoodyga.gov if you have any questions.

Stay safe and have a great weekend.