BUFORD, Ga. - Gwinnett County police have arrested a man accused of breaking into the North Gwinnett Co-Operative last month and stealing cash from its thrift store.

What we know:

Investigators say 38-year-old Lavan Hickman of Clarkston forced his way inside the nonprofit’s Second Blessings Thrift Store on Commerce Drive around 6:30 a.m. on Aug. 19.

Surveillance video shows him climbing through a broken window with his face partially covered, carrying a bag, and later leaving through a back door.

Police said he stole a petty cash box containing $280.60 along with two sales bags totaling about $521.

Hickman was already serving a work-release sentence at the Gwinnett County Correctional Institute for burglary convictions in 2024.

Police determined he walked away from the facility b

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