The facility manager at a Goldstar Self Storage facility in Cullman, Ala., thwarted two suspected burglars recently by trapping them inside the property until police could arrive. Nancy Bonds called police when she saw a man and a woman cutting locks and breaking into storage units, and then used the facility’s automated gate to keep them barricaded inside the property, according to the source.
When the police arrived, Jimmy Lee Persall and Jessica Dawn Persall were trying to find a way to exit the facility at 2330 2nd Ave. N.W. and were arrested. The married couple faces third-degree burglary charges, and Jimmy Persall has also been charged with possession of burglary tools, the source reported.
“The man was cutting the locks off the storage units with bolt-cutters,” officer Joey Duncan told the source. “He took several items out of one of the storage units while his wife was looking out.”
Investigators are reviewing the incident to see if evidence connects the couple to other crimes. “Storage buildings getting broken into is common,” said Craig Green, assistant chief of police. “Common sense tells us this probably isn’t their first. Hopefully, investigation will connect them—if they’re guilty of it—to things in the past.”
Police praised Bonds for her quick thinking and remaining calm under the circumstances. “Really, the hero here is Nancy Bonds,” Green said. “Our dispatch kept her on the phone the entire time, and she took the proper steps to stay safe.”
Goldstar operates five self-storage facilities in Cullman.
Sources:
- The Cullman Times: Employee Helps Thwart Burglary
