Woman follows 2 suspects, phones info to 911 dispatch

Peachtree City police quickly arrested two men minutes after they allegedly robbed the United Community Bank in Peachtree City at gunpoint Friday afternoon.

But they had a significant amount of help from a female bystander who risked her safety to follow the suspects’ getaway car after she saw a man running from the bank, officials said.

On the phone with 911, the woman stealthily pursued the getaway car from a safe distance, said Peggy Glaze of the Fayette County 911 Communications Center.

That led to the highly dramatic traffic stop, as Peachtree City patrol cars surrounded the suspect’s vehicle on Ga. Highway 54 at Huddleston Road, right across from Best Buy.

Tyrone resident Chip Young, alerted by police sirens, watched the suspects as they were taken into custody just after he exited the electronics store Friday afternoon.

Young walked closer to the scene and saw officers with their guns drawn. One officer used a PA system to order the suspects to exit the car with their hands up, Young said.

The suspects complied, leaving the car with their hands raised before getting on the ground “spread eagle” so officers could move in and handcuff them, Young said.

Then as a matter of caution, officers kept their weapons drawn and approached the car to make sure there wasn’t another armed suspect laying in wait, Young added.

In a matter of seconds, Hawk 1, the helicopter for the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office was overhead and a number of sheriff’s deputies also responded to the scene in their patrol cars for backup, Young said.

The helicopter’s presence is vital, Young said, because if the officers couldn’t find the suspects right away, the helicopter would’ve been able to track them from the sky, Young noted.

“He’s not going to outrun that helicopter,” Young said.

Arrested were Calvin Obie Boynton, 45, and Scott Neal Boynton, 22, both of Senoia.

The heroine of the day told 911 operators exactly where the getaway car was going so police officers could intercept the vehicle, Glaze said. At one point the Good Samaritan put her phone on speaker mode so she didn’t have to hold it up to her face, potentially arousing the suspects’ suspicion.

The Good Samaritan was even so bold as to pull off to the side of the road at one point when she saw the suspects turn off the highway onto a side road, Glaze said. The woman obviously knew the area and was able to resume her pursuit when the getaway vehicle got back on the highway, Glaze said.

Thanks to the Samaritan’s efforts, Peachtree City police were quickly able to find the vehicle and execute the traffic stop, Glaze said.

Law enforcement officials urge bystanders not to confront criminals but to note a physical description and if possible a tag number before calling authorities. Glaze urges anyone who witnesses any suspicious activity to go ahead and call 911 just to be safe.

Glaze said that four people immediately called 911 about the incident and each was patient with operators, who sometimes had to cut them off so information could be relayed to officers.

In this case, doing just that helped apprehend two bank robbers, officials said.

Young said he didn’t know until he checked The Citizen’s website later that the two suspects were wanted for a bank robbery. But he is confident if the two suspects go through Fayette County’s court system — instead of facing federal charges — they will be appropriately dealt with.

“Judge (Fletcher) Sams and (Christopher) Edwards would get ‘em for four thousand years,” Young said in a phone interview Monday.

Young also lamented how other local judicial systems, such as Fulton County’s, don’t handle criminals as well, releasing them on probation for serious crimes such as armed robbery.

“You don’t get away with this in Fayette County,” Young said.

Young lauded the efforts of Peachtree City police and Fayette deputies for keeping Fayette one of the safest places in Georgia.

For this particular crime, Young knew exactly how to keep score.

“It’s Peachtree City 2, bad guys nothing,” Young said.