By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizen.com
and BEN NELMS
bnelms@TheCitizen.com

Atlanta – Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Gregory Jones, FBI Atlanta, in conjunction with Peachtree City Police Chief James V. Murray, announce the arrest Tuesday of Mohammed Silliam, age 19, and Gerald Wayne Lott, age 19, both formerly of Maryland, subsequent to yesterday’s armed robbery of the Wachovia Bank, located at 993 North Peachtree Parkway, Peachtree City, Ga.

At approximately 12:12 p.m. Oct. 24, two black male robbers entered the Wachovia Bank, located at 993 North Peachtree Parkway, Peachtree City, Ga. One of the robbers displayed a shotgun during the robbery.

After obtaining an undisclosed amount of money, the robbers departed the bank.

Responding law enforcement from Peachtree City Police Department and Fayette County gave chase to a Lincoln Town Car which matched witness statements regarding the getaway vehicle.

Stop sticks/spikes were deployed on the vehicle wherein it was stopped and, after a brief footchase, both Silliam and Lott were taken into custody and evidence was processed at the scene.

The public is reminded that the above are merely allegations and that all individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Police are also looking for at least one more suspect who is believed to have gotten away in a second vehicle that was not involved in the pursuit: a white Ford truck. The heist occurred at the Kedron Village Wachovia bank right at noon.

Police were able to quickly apprehend two suspects in Tuesday’s bank robbery because of the alert work of two bystanders, according to Chief Murray.

Silliam will also face charges from a Sept. 26 robbery of a Wachovia branch in Riverdale, officials said.

An unidentified man and woman were about to walk into the bank on the city’s north side when they saw two black males executing the armed robbery, Murray said.

The woman called 911 as they followed the suspects from the bank to the nearby Amli Apartments, Murray said.

She remained in contact with emergency dispatchers the entire time, relaying the type of car the suspects were in and the direction they headed in, Murray noted.

That brave action ultimately led to the suspects’ apprehension, Murray said.

Silliam and Lot were forced to flee on foot in Fairburn after their gray Lincoln Town Car was disabled by stop sticks deployed near the Fayette-Fulton county line by a sheriff’s deputy. The stop sticks deflated the front driver’s side tire of the vehicle, police reported.

Police recovered a sawed-off shotgun from the Lincoln, said Chief Murray. It is very likely that if a second vehicle was involved, it was the robbers’ plan to ditch the Lincoln and get away in the other vehicle, Murray added.

The chase reached speeds of 100 mph as it passed Carriage Oaks Drive in Tyrone just seconds before the stop sticks were deployed, police said.

Silliam and Lott fled into a wooded area south of the Hwy. 74-I-85 interchange but were soon apprehended by two Fairburn police officers who had responded to the scene, police said. Cash believed stolen from the bank was found near the car, police said.

During the bank heist in Peachtree City, one of the suspects was armed with a “long-barreled weapon.”

A Peachtree City officer was able to locate the suspects’ car after learning it had left the nearby AMLI apartments and was heading north on Hwy. 74.

The suspects initially turned right onto Dogwood Trail and into the driveway to Glendalough Manor before turning around and getting back onto Hwy. 74 heading north, police said.

After ditching the car and running into the woods, the two suspects were spotted in an open field in the Fieldstone Manor subdivision in Fairburn, police said. Fairburn officer E. Roque grabbed one of the suspects and ordered the second one to the ground just as his backup, officer Eddie Saavedra, responded to assist.

Police initially ordered the nearby Hampton Inn on lock-down while they searched for additional suspects.

Police have recovered a backpack from the heist with money inside. Other evidence was left behind at the bank, police said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is working on the case and Peachtree City police are sharing information with other area jurisdictions who may have had similar robberies occur, Chief Murray said.

Hawk 1, the helicopter of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, also responded to assist in the search for the suspects on foot in the Fairburn area. Tracking dogs also were sent to the scene.