A Waycross man now calls Coffee County home – specifically, the Coffee County Jail – after he was caught allegedly breaking into Ruby Tuesday and Jersey Mike’s in the early morning hours of June 17, 2024.
According to a report from the Douglas Police Department, an officer responded to a call at Ruby Tuesday on the afternoon of June 17. The manager stated that she had noticed damage to the back door of the restaurant. She looked at camera footage and saw a man approach the building around 2:45 a.m. He pushed the camera away then entered the restaurant, the report says. He went into the office and allegedly took a cash deposit from the office.
During the investigation, another officer showed up and had a picture of a man who exactly matched the description of the individual in the camera footage. The man was James Leon Phillips, 33, of Waycross, who had been arrested early that morning allegedly breaking into Jersey Mike’s. When Phillips was arrested, the amount of cash he had on him matched the amount missing from Ruby Tuesday, which was ultimately returned to the restaurant.
Phillips was charged with two counts of burglary in the 2nd degree, theft by taking, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He has not been released from the Coffee County Jail.