GEORGIA — Two men have been arrested in connection with a smash-and-grab burglary at a Hall County convenience store early on November 26.
Deputies responded around 1:15 a.m. to the Lula Food Mart on Lula Road after the store’s owner called 911, reporting he could see two men inside the business on surveillance video. When officers arrived, they found the front door shattered, but the suspects had already fled.
A Hall County Sheriff’s Office K9 unit searched the area and tracked the suspects to a home on Morgan Manor Drive. There, deputies located and detained Braxton Eli Hallman, 20, of Gainesville, and Hayden Stephen Mutter, 21, of Lula.
Investigators said surveillance footage shows Hallman using a baseball bat to break the front door and enter the store, where he stole an undisclosed amount of vapes and Kratom pills. Mutter allegedly waited outside as a lookout. Both men ran from the scene after the burglary.
Deputies reported finding additional evidence at the home, including clothing worn during the break-in and the stolen merchandise.
Hallman was arrested and charged with felony smash-and-grab burglary and misdemeanor obstruction for resisting arrest. He is being held in the Hall County Jail on a $9,200 bond. Mutter was charged with felony party to a crime and remains jailed on a $5,700 bond.
