CORNELIA, Ga. — A man accused of forcing his way into an elderly woman’s home near Cornelia was quickly arrested Thursday after authorities used surveillance footage to track him to a nearby residence.
The woman initially thought a family member had entered her East Walnut Street home around 8 a.m. When she called out a second time, however, she realized the person was an unknown man who had forced his way inside, according to the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office.
The intruder ran through the front door after the woman yelled at him to leave. She was not injured.
Responding deputies found damage near the home’s back door, where the man apparently forced his way inside.
Cornelia police officers assisted deputies in comparing an image of the suspect captured at the home with a neighbor’s video showing a man running along East Walnut Street. A Ford pickup truck was recorded traveling on the road about two minutes later.
Deputies located the truck at a nearby residence and received the homeowner’s permission to search the house. They found 49-year-old Joshua Adam Doster of Lawrenceville hiding behind clothes in a closet, authorities said.
Doster allegedly refused to put his hands behind his back as officers attempted to handcuff him. He is charged with burglary, criminal trespass, and obstruction.
Doster was booked Thursday into the Habersham County Detention Center in Clarkesville.
“We appreciate the hard work and dedication of our deputies, as well as the quick response of the Cornelia police officers, in bringing this case to quick resolution through an arrest,” Sheriff Robin Krockum said.
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