By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@thecitizennews.com

A Peachtree City woman was the target of a bump-and-run armed robbery while she was headed home early Tuesday morning.

Though they originally got away, two men were arrested for the crime seven minutes later when they were pulled over by Fayetteville Police, said Maj. Mike DuPree of the Peachtree City Police Department.

The victim had turned off of Flat Creek Road after 1 a.m. when she was bumped from behind by a vehicle that had followed her from Fayetteville, DuPree said. The woman stopped and exited her car to check for damage when a passenger from Shaffer's car pointed a weapon at her, DuPree said.

The pair took the woman's purse and a cell phone before fleeing the scene, police believe. Both items were recovered after Fayetteville police made the arrests, police reported.

The weapon turned out to be a BB gun, DuPree added.

Since the crime was reported so quickly, Peachtree City police were able to alert Fayetteville police to look out for the vehicle. The vehicle was pulled over by Fayetteville police at the intersection of Ga. Highway 54 and Booker Road just seven minutes after the crime was reported.

Ricky Yarbrough, 21, of McDonough, the passenger in the vehicle, was charged with armed robbery, DuPree said. The driver, Michael Shaffer, 19, of Jonesboro was charged with armed robbery, leaving the scene of an accident and following too closely, DuPree added.

The victim knew she was being followed by the vehicle, a champagne-colored Nissan Altima, DuPree said. She did not know what type of weapon was used in the crime, however, DuPree added.

A female passenger was inside Shaffer's vehicle, but she claims that she did not know about the armed robbery. That passenger has not been charged with a crime as of Tuesday morning, but the matter is still under investigation, DuPree said.

The bump-and-run strategy is being used by criminals throughout the nation, DuPree said. If you suspect you're being followed, he suggested, drive around until you spot a police car to meet up with, or use a cell phone to contact police.

“If you have a cell phone, and you believe you're being followed, notifying police of the situation is the safest thing you can do,” DuPree said. “Under no circumstances should you let them follow you home.”