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Court date set in theater robbery case

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

Two men charged in the June 14 armed robbery at Tinseltown movie theater will have their second court appearance next month, but this time they will appear before a Superior Court judge.

The second bond hearing for Aundrea Lee, 28, of Powder Springs, and Darrel Brown, 45, of Douglasville, has been set for 10 a.m. July 15 at the Fayette County Courthouse. Griffin Judicial Circuit Chief Superior Court Judge Paschal English Jr. is expected to preside over the proceedings.

Lee and Brown are being held without bond at the Fayette County Jail on four counts of armed robbery, two counts of false imprisonment, one count of kidnapping and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, police said.

The charges stem from the armed robbery that forced the two-day closure of the theater and put a dent in the theater’s bottom line. Theater officials hoped to premier “Batman Begins” at midnight that night, but were forced to cancel their plans due to the melee.

Wielding a semi-automatic handgun, the robbers allegedly tied up two managers about 1 a.m. June 14 and seized over $1,100 cash from the 72,000-square-foot facility, officials said. But before the men could bolt with the money, another employee tripped the alarm.

Theater general manager Dair Bradley, Assistant Manager Caitlin Williams, employee Alton Brown were taken as hostages during the robbery. Assistant Manager Lynette Montgomery, reportedly tripped the panic alarm, which alerted Fayetteville police. However that information has not been confirmed by authorities.

Lee was taken into custody and so was a Bryco Arms .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun, authorities said.

Brown, however, eluded authorities prompting a manhunt that included over 150 law enforcement officers from Fayette, Fulton, Henry and Pike Counties, police dogs and two helicopters.

About 24 hours later, police found Brown hiding between two sections of walls on the second floor of the theater at 1:30 a.m. June 15. An out-of-place poster alerted police to his hideout. At the command of police, Brown surrendered and was taken into custody without further incident.

Decked in their orange jail jumpsuits, shackled and handcuffed, Lee and Brown shuffled into the Fayette County Magistrate courtroom June 16 to learn if they would be granted bond for the alleged incident.

Fayette County Magistrate Judge James White initially denied bond for Brown, who triggered the manhunt, and set a $75,000 per count or $600,000 bond for Lee, but later rescinded his decision during the hearing.

White realized he could not grant bond to suspects accused of armed robbery - one of the seven deadly sins. He told public defenders Stacey Flynn and Joe Saia, to petition the Superior Court for a bond hearing. Flynn and Saia followed the judge’s orders.