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Fayetteville  police cuff 2 for armed robbery at Pit Stop

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

What started out as a routine traffic stop early Sunday morning led Fayetteville police to two Atlanta men suspected of an armed robbery and assault that occurred moments earlier, police said.

The suspects, identified as Rimion Brooks, 24, and Albert Smith, 29, are accused of robbing a Fayetteville photographer at the Pit Stop gas station on Ga. Highway 85 south before 3 a.m., police said. Brooks pulled a gun on the victim and struck his hand several times with the gun, dislocating the victim’s finger, police said.

The officer first noticed Brooks and Smith’s vehicle when it slammed on its brakes to avoid running a red light, said Lt. Beverly Trainor of the Fayetteville Police Department. The officer then noticed the vehicle U-turned in the middle of Hwy. 85 near Stonewall Avenue, Trainor added.

The officer turned around to follow the car south on Hwy. 85 and noticed it had pulled off to the side of the road, with three people fleeing on foot into a wooded area, Trainor said.

With assistance from other Fayetteville officers and Fayette County sheriff’s deputies, Brooks and Smith were found and arrested, Trainor said. Also arrested were another person who fled the vehicle on foot and another who stayed with the truck; the latter two were not charged with the crime on advice from the district attorney’s office, Trainor said.

The weapon used in the crime was also found: a .40-cal Ruger handgun, Trainor said.

The metal box of camera equipment that had been taken from the victim was found in the suspects’ vehicle, Trainor said. The equipment was valued at $1,600, police said.

The victim told police he was sitting in his car with the passenger door open when he noticed a truck pull up behind his vehicle, Trainor said. Brooks then pulled the gun and demanded money from the victim, Trainor said.

The victim began to reach back to grab the camera case, but Brooks struck the victim’s hand several times with the gun, Trainor added.

Brooks, of 391 Southbend Ave., Atlanta, was charged with felony armed robbery, felony aggravated battery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and giving a false name to a police officer.

Smith, of 1863 S. Gordon Rd., Atlanta, was identified by police as the driver of the getaway vehicle. Smith was charged with one felony count of armed robbery (party to a crime).