- Publication: Athens Daily News
- Author: Joan Stroer, Staff Writer
- Original Publication Date: Thursday, July 9, 1992
Three men charged with stealing Jennifer Stone’s cameras sold them four blocks from her house in the early morning hours of April 23 — the day her slain body was found, authorities said Wednesday.
Investigators charged a University of Georgia employee and two homeless men with stealing two of Ms. Stone’s cameras, Police Chief Ronald Chandler said Wednesday.
The three are charged with taking the cameras and selling them — one on Hancock Avenue near the Classic Inn on Finley Street April 23 at 1:30 a.m., Chandler said. The other was sold by the men later in the Parkview Homes area, he said.
Earnest Brown Jr., 29, of Athens, a computer operator for four years at University Networking and Computing Services; Donald R. Wilson, 32; and Larry Darnell Brown, 34, were charged with theft by receiving, Chandler said. The Browns are not related, police said.
None of the suspects have been charged with Ms. Stone’s slaying.
Friends found Ms. Stone’s body at her house on the corner of Hull and Clayton streets, just blocks from where police believe the first camera was sold. A phone conversation with a friend at about 11 p.m. April 22 was her last known contact before her death, police said.
Earnest Brown Jr. was released from the Clarke County Jail Friday on $15,000 bond after being picked up July 1. Larry Brown and Donald Wilson remained in jail Wednesday without bond. Wilson was arrested July 2, and Larry Brown was arrested Tuesday.
Chandler said the three were likely suspects in the slaying.
“Most definitely — especially because the cameras were known to have been taken from her residence,” he said. “We feel really good about this.”
The three men all live near where Ms. Stone lived downtown. The three frequented the downtown area, Chandler said.
Donald “Heavy” Wilson, who came to Athens from Atlanta, stayed at the Salvation Army shelter from February 1992 to April 14, 1992, according to Salvation Army records. Larry Brown stayed infrequently at the Athens Area Homeless Shelter on Barber Street.
Earnest Brown listed 139 N. Newton St., Apt C. as his address. The apartment is a few blocks from Ms. Stone’s former address.
Police tracked down the men after officers in the department’s Drug and Vice Squad found one missing camera at a residence in the northern part of Athens while executing a drug search warrant. The group did not know the camera was at the address, Chandler said.
The second missing camera was found later this week in Oglethorpe County, he said. Their serial numbers matched the numbers of the cameras stolen from Ms. Stone after her murder.
“Once we got the first information — then we had a trail,” he said.
Earnest Brown and Wilson submitted physical samples — including hair, blood and fingerprints — to be tested at the State Crime Lab. Samples from Larry Brown will be submitted, Chief Chandler said. Some lab results will come back soon, he said.
“They understand the urgency of this thing,” he said.
Chandler would not comment on why the suspects chose to steal the cameras, but the theft provided a lucky break for investigators, he said.
“That’s fortunate for the police,” he said. “People make mistakes, that’s why they get caught.”
Chandler would not say whether anything else was taken from Ms. Stone’s house or other details investigators may have learned from the suspects.
“I’m not going to discuss the interviews,” he said.
The three remain the only suspects charged in connection with the murder. No information exists to suggest the cameras were sold to the three charged with the theft, Chandler said.
The cameras fetched $20 to $50 each on the street, he said. Film was still in one camera when it was recovered by investigators.
Police said they developed the roll of film and found that pictures apparently taken by Ms. Stone were on the roll. They also found pictures apparently taken after the camera was stolen.
Police would not reveal the nature or content of the photographs, except that they did not implicate a suspect.
Ms. Stone was a senior at U.Ga. majoring in advertising and minoring in photography.
[Photo caption] New leads: Police have made the first arrests in connection with Jennifer Stone’s April murder.