Crime & Safety

Trio Busted Stealing $40 in Carved Pumpkins, Fall Yard Decor

They face theft by taking from yards and other charges in connection with the incident in a Cartersville nieghborhood.

Two Cartersville women and and a South Carolina man were arrested Wednesday night allegedly stealing a total of $40 in Halloween and fall yard decorations after a vigilant neighbor spotted suspicious activity and called police.

The witness said she spotted a white, four-door sedan driving slowly in her neighborhood about 10:15 p.m. and noticed the trio occupying the car approach neighbors' homes which had no porch lights on, according to the Cartersville Police Department incident report, above.

Having trouble viewing the report on your mobile device? Click here.

The witness said the driver—later identified as Julie Nicole Carlton, 21, of Town and Country Drive in Cartersville—turned off the car lights, jumped out of the vehicle, ran up to one house and returned with a pumpkin and a sign.

Carlton did the same thing at a second house on Mercer Lane, and the witness ran after the car to get a tag number. She told police Carlton and the other two occupants of the car—Genenive Jerie Weeks, 22, of Cumberland Road in Emerson, and David Carlton Bush Jr., 22, of South Carolina—then left the neighborhood in a hurry.

Police caught up with the trio nearby at Pilgrim and Parmenter streets and found in the car a number of carved, decomposing pumpkins, a seasonal sign, and scarecrow, ghost and owl yard decor, the report says. All total, the items were valued at $40.

Bush allegedly told police of two alleged victims, one of whom was missing two carved pumpkins and the other, a pumpkin and a pumpkin sign with the victim's named carved on it. Officers were unable to find the owners of:

  • Two male scarecrow yard decorations attached to a bamboo post,
  • Two female Scarecrow yard decorations attached to a bamboo post,
  • One male stand-alone Scarecrow doll decoration,
  • One female stand-alone Scarecrow doll decoration,
  • One ghost with an orange tie and black hat yard decoration attached to a bamboo post,
  • One orange banner with an owl stitched into it and attached to a black metal post, and
  • Three carved pumpkins, which were decomposing and disposed of by police.
While Bush and Weeks were charged with theft by taking, Carlton faces theft by taking, DUI, open container and failure to drive within a single lane charges. 

Tell us what you think in the comments, share your photos and videos, and don’t miss any of the local news you care about—subscribe to Cartersville Patch's newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Cartersville