Three Alto residents charged with stealing cargo from derailed train in Hall County

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Three Alto residents were arrested after Hall County deputies caught them allegedly stealing items from shipping containers left beside railroad tracks following last week’s train derailment in East Hall, authorities said.

According to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded around 7 p.m. Sunday, May 24, after a 911 caller reported suspicious activity near shipping containers along the railroad tracks near Old Cornelia Highway and Yonah-Homer Road.

When deputies arrived, they found four shipping containers with doors that had either been pried open or had locks cut off, Hall County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer BJ Williams said in a statement.

Deputies encountered Brianna Nicole Ayers, 28, James Bradley Ayers, 60, and Mark Anthony Purdy, 53, at the scene.

Investigators said deputies found three cases of 12-count trash bags and six mixing bowl sets inside Purdy’s vehicle. In the Ayers’ vehicle, deputies located two cases of 12-count trash bags, three cases of 12-count boxes of breakfast cereal, three cases of 24-count Propel water and a table.

The containers were among those left beside the tracks after a Norfolk Southern train derailed May 21 after colliding with a tractor-trailer at the railroad crossing on Old Cornelia Highway at Yonah-Homer Road. Multiple railroad crossings in the area were closed for several days as crews worked to clear the wreckage and repair the tracks.

Williams said Norfolk Southern Railway crews have continued cleanup operations at the derailment site since the crash.

A Norfolk Southern special agent responded to the scene Sunday night and requested charges against the suspects, according to the sheriff’s office.

Each suspect was charged with second-degree burglary and theft of cargo, both felony offenses. Jail records show each posted an $8,650 bond and was released from custody May 26.

The train derailment itself did not result in serious injuries, though the crash caused significant disruptions to rail traffic and road access in the East Hall area.