DPD Commends Citizens For Aiding Bank Burglary, Arson Arrest
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022
A bizarre July incident in downtown Dalton in which a man broke into a bank and tried to set it on fire could have led to even more mayhem if two citizens had not stepped up to help police catch the offender. The police department presented letters of commendation and thanks to those citizens, Yaser and Nohemi Gomez, at Tuesday morning’s meeting of the Dalton Public Safety Commission.
Caption: DPD Assistant Chief Chris Crossen and Sergeant Molly Parker presented letters of commendation to Nohemi and Yaser Gomez Tuesday at the meeting of the Dalton Public Safety Commission
The incident happened on the morning of July 10th. Investigators say 34-year old Wendell Patton, Jr. of Resaca was suffering some sort of mental disturbance when he went on a spree of arson and damage to property around downtown. Investigators say he first set a parked truck on fire on Elk Street. From there he relocated to the old freight depot on South Depot Street and tampered with the power box outside. From there, he went to the Wells Fargo building on Hamilton Street and tampered with the power box there, too, before breaking in by throwing a heavy ashtray through the glass door. Once inside, Patton attempted to set a fire inside. Yaser and Nohemi Gomez were parked nearby, waiting to go into a church service.
“We kept hearing these loud noises, we thought it was a dump truck or something,” Yaser Gomez said. “We started looking where the noises were coming from and that’s when saw there was a guy trying to break in. By that time, he had already broken the front door of the bank and as soon as he did that he came back out to his vehicle and grabbed something, whether it was paper or something else, and then he went back into the bank and that’s when we made the call.”
The Gomezes called 911 to report the crime, and also started to take pictures and video of Patton as he ran back out of the bank as the building’s fire alarm sounded.
“A lot of the time, we do our jobs a whole lot better when we have help from the eyes and ears we have in the community,” DPD assistant chief Chris Crossen said while presenting the commendation to the Gomez family. “Because of their willingness to be in the area, to be our eyes and ears that we needed and to let us know the information they were able to present to us, officers were able to really quickly find this person before they even really got out of the downtown area. Apprehend him and put a stop to what may have even been a much worse situation.”
“In my opinion, without the assistance of these witnesses, officers would not have been able to find and apprehend the offender,” Dalton patrol sergeant Molly Parker wrote in a letter recommending the honor for the Gomezes. “Without their information we may have never been able to make the arrest. More importantly, we may not have known what dangerous activity this individual was involved in and could have resulted in such serious harm and physical damage and property damage.”
Patton was located by a Dalton officer near Cherokee Alley where he had opened two valves on a gas line. He was charged with three counts of arson, one count of burglary in the 2nd degree, two counts of criminal damage to property, and three counts of interference with public utilities. Fortunately, nobody was hurt in this incident.
“I guess it was just a reaction at that point,” said Yaser Gomez of the decision to not just call 911 but also to record the suspect. “I guess if I was going to try to memorize how he looked and what vehicle, I probably would have forgotten half of that in the middle of that mayhem.”
As for being honored for their efforts to help bring the incident to a safe conclusion, Nohemi Gomez says the couple is appreciative of the recognition.
“It just touched our hearts,” she said after Tuesday morning’s presentation. “We never expected anything like this, we just wanted the safety of everything in downtown because we love Dalton. I grew up here, this is my town, you know? I never expected this, but I’m so grateful.”
