Gwinnett Daily Post

SNELLVILLE -- A large tree fell Wednesday morning and smashed a Snellville home, inadvertently leading police to a stolen vehicle and the arrest of one of the house's residents.

Emergency personnel responded to the home on the 3200 block of Sunderland Drive just after 8 a.m. Wednesday, finding the tree "covering the majority of the home," Gwinnett County fire department spokesman Lt. Eric Eberly said. There was extensive damage to the rear of the home and it was deemed uninhabitable.

Two adults and two children were displaced, Eberly said.

"(The family was) already awake when it happened or it could have been much worse than it was, due to the damage in the bedrooms," Eberly said.

Officials were unsure Wednesday why the tree fell, but said it could have been due to heavy rain in recent days. But the tree wasn't the whole story.

During their evaluation of the scene, Gwinnett County police officers discovered that a vehicle in the driveway of the home was stolen. Jimmie Dee Chapman, one of the residents, was subsequently arrested and charged with theft by receiving.

Gwinnett County Jail records show he was being held without bond.

The vehicle was returned to its owner, Eberly said.