CARMAX repo men found breaking into home

GDO Staff Report

BUFORD - At approximately 11:45 Sunday evening, Buford resident Paul Martin was awakened by a knock on his front door. After taking the time to dress, find his cellphone and make his way to some commotion coming from his guesthouse - he walked up on two men breaking into one of the windows of his guesthouse.

The two men had allegedly backed their wrecker up to the window they were breaking into in an apparent attempt to hide their actions. Mr. Martin states that one of the men held a flashlight while the other was forcing open the window. He claims that he immediately tried to take down their license plate number and was unable to because the plate had been hidden or removed.

When he asked what they were doing, they replied that they had a “warrant” for an automobile purchased from CARMAX that was behind in its payments. They were looking for the last known driver of the vehicle named “Heath”. They then presented "CARMAX Auto Finance" paperwork attached to a clipboard.

Mr. Martin informed the two that the individual they were referring to only stayed in his guesthouse for a short period in December and he had no knowledge of his current whereabouts. Mr. Martin then reportedly instructed them to leave his property immediately while adding that they had no business trying to break into his guesthouse through a window. The two reportedly responded with some disrespectful slurs about Mr. Martin’s mother.

According to Mr. Martin, the two then refused to leave after being instructed to over a half dozen times. They then began accusing Mr. Martin of being the “Heath” they were looking for.

Only after Mr. Martin dialed 911 on his cellphone did the two leave in a hurry.

A Gwinnett County police officer showed up minutes later, secured the area and took Mr. Martin’s statement. Mr. Martin and the officer inspected the premises and discovered that the window the two were allegedly trying to break into was in fact broken while all other windows in the dwelling appeared to be secure and in good condition. The officer also noted fresh tire tracks on the ground outside the broken window from the perpetrators vehicle.

Mr. Martin added that the officer was very professional, thorough and assured his family that they would be safe throughout the rest of the evening.

CARMAX was contacted Monday morning and verified that the vehicle in question was behind in payments and eligible for repossession. They would not comment on the companies or individuals they contract to repossess their vehicles.

Kevin Cox, General Manager of CARMAX of Norcross, was contacted on Tuesday afternoon and declined to look into the incident. He directed us to CARMAX Auto Finance and gave an 800 number.

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