Change Adds Up to 20-Year Prison Sentence for Burglar

A Marietta man with a criminal history of breaking-in and stealing items from businesses in other counties will serve 20 years in prison after evidence linked him to a theft and burglary that took place in Douglasville five years ago, according to District Attorney David McDade.

Joseph Dion Crosby, 44, received 20 years of straight prison time from Chief Superior Court Judge Robert J. James on Thursday after entering a guilty plea to charges of Burglary and Theft by Taking in two separate cases. According to District Attorney David McDade his office recommended the lengthy sentence because “Crosby has a lengthy criminal record and doesn’t seem to be willing to stop robbing people, so we will put him in a place where he can’t rob anyone anymore.”

The two incidents occurred in January of 2007, only nine days apart from each other. Assistant District Attorney Anna Vaughan laid out a timeline and facts for both cases, beginning with the first crime that took place on January 3, 2007, at the Texaco on Highway 5.

“One of the owners was working that day and noticed [a group of people] acting suspicious around the gaming machines,” said Vaughan during her presentation at the sentencing hearing. “When the group left, she inspected the machines and found out they had been broken into. Approximately $2,400 worth of coins was stolen.”

The owner, however, was able to run outside and track down the tag number of the getaway vehicle before the group drove away. Aside from the vehicle registration, authorities were also able to identify Crosby’s two co-defendants by the store’s video surveillance. In the video, Crosby’s co-defendants, Alana Dickens and Sean Ray, can be seen concealing Crosby while he breaks into the gaming machines. Both co-defendants also served as look-outs.

Crosby continued his criminal trend nine days later by burglarizing Coin Village Laundry on Fairburn Road. The burglary caused $1,600 worth of damages, including repairs to 15 dryers, nine washers, and various vending and change machines that stored coins before the break-in occurred. Crosby was charged after his finger prints were found at the crime scene.

He was also linked to the burglary by Ray, the co-defendant in his other case who had admitted his involvement in the Texaco theft to investigators. In an interview with authorities, Ray implicated Crosby and Dickens as the two other suspects in the Texaco theft case. He also acknowledged that Crosby was the mastermind of the crime and had bragged about breaking into a coin laundry on Fairburn Road on January 12.