Palmetto Police officers in the early morning hours July 21 gave chase and helped apprehend two men after the pair invaded a home in Chattahoochee Hill Country, assaulted one of the occupants and stole her vehicle. The woman was struck but not seriously injured in the incident.
Mark Stephen Newsome, Jr., 23, and Shareef A. Reynolds, 22, both of Delaware, were each charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of false imprisonment, armed robbery, burglary, theft by taking a motor vehicle and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to Palmetto Officer Jacob Trujillo. Reynolds was also charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Trujillo said. Newsome was additionally charged with possession of synthetic drugs, Trujillo added.
The incident occurred at a residence on Little Fawn Parkway off Wilkerson Mill Road. Trujillo headed in the direction of the residence after a 911 call was received at 3:47 a.m. Trujillo and Cpl. Mike Upshur gave chase to rapidly accelerating vehicle on Wilkerson Mill Road heading toward Roosevelt Highway. The vehicle matched the description of the vehicle that had been stolen from the residence. At the intersection the driver and passenger jumped out of the vehicle while it was moving, reports said. One of the men fled east across Roosevelt Highway while the other ran west into the woods. Trujillo and Upshur worked to apprehend the driver near the railroad tracks east of the highway. Meantime, units with Fulton County Police searched for the passenger, soon followed by the arrival of the Clayton County Police helicopter and Fayette County’s K-9 unit.
Once the driver was secured, Upshur and Trujillo searched the stolen vehicle, finding a wealth of weapons and drugs inside. The weapons included a 9mm handgun, a Tec-9 type weapon, an SKS assault rifle with a 30-round magazine and a Mossberg 500 pump shotgun along with quantities of suspected marijuana and Ecstacy. Other items in the car included electronics and an electronic game system, precious coins and currency, Trujillo said.
At approximately 8 a.m. Trujillo identified the passenger that had been picked up near Roosevelt Highway by units from Palmetto and Fulton Police after he had emerged from a wooded area.
It was later learned that Newsome previously faced murder charges in Delaware, Trujillo said.
“I’m very pleased with the officers’ diligence and assisting with the arrests,” Palmetto Police Chief Bobby Fronebarger said. “Police work is all about partnerships with surrounding agencies and lending support when and where it’s needed.”