Wednesday, January 14, 2004
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Wednesday, January 14, 2004 |
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Manhunt yields 2 arrests in foiled armed robbery By JOHN MUNFORD Two suspects who likely intended to rob a north Fayette convenience store at gunpoint were foiled by an alert sheriff’s deputy early Tuesday morning, authorities said. Dep. Chris Stapleton encountered a black man and a white woman with two vehicles about a block from the Citgo gas station at the intersection of Ga. highways 138 and 314 at 2:30 a.m., said Lt. Col. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department. After a tag check revealed the vehicles were both stolen, the man was placed in handcuffs but the woman escaped in one of the vehicles before backup arrived, Jordan said. As the woman sped away, the handcuffed man ran into the woods, Jordan said. Both suspects were apprehended later in the day: the woman was arrested at 5:30 a.m., found hiding in bushes in the Newton Estates subdivision along Hwy. 314, Jordan said. The man was arrested by Clayton County police in their jurisdiction around 10:30 a.m. on Webb Road when he was spotted walking along the residential street with his handcuffs still on, Jordan added. “At that point, he was just glad to be caught,” Jordan said. Both suspects names were unavailable at press time as officials tried to make sure they had the correct names. The suspects were attempting to drop off a getaway vehicle when Stapleton made contact with them, Jordan said. Jordan said the investigation revealed information that the two suspects were planning to rob the Citgo store, which is the only one in the area that is open 24 hours a day. It is also believed a third person may have been involved in the planned armed robbery, Jordan said. During the search, deputies found a gun in a location they believe the woman hid in, Jordan said. One of the stolen vehicles had just been stolen from a newspaper carrier in Newnan prior to Stapleton’s contact with the suspects, Jordan said. The other had been stolen Saturday from a gas station in Clayton County at the intersection of Tara Boulevard and Ga. Highway 54 while the motorist entered the store to pay for gas, Jordan said.
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