Four teens from Palmetto, Union City and Atlanta have now been arrested following an armed hijacking Saturday afternoon in the Walmart parking lot in Peachtree City.
Peachtree City Police spokesman Mark Brown said Zaviaire Baitley, 16, of 2281 Country Club Drive in Atlanta, will be held at a regional youth detention center under the charges of felony attempt to elude, armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle, participation in a criminal street gang, illegal drug possession and numerous traffic charges.
Investigators on Saturday night arrested 16-year-old Demetrious Watson, of Shaggy Hickory Trail, Palmetto, and Nathan Gullatte, 16, of Phipps Road, Palmetto. Both were charged with armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle and participation in a criminal street gang, Brown said.
Michael Long, 14, of Lower Dixie Lake Road in Union City was arrested July 7 and charged with armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle and participation in a criminal street gang, Brown said.
Brown said the armed hijacking occurred as the driver of the vehicle was exiting her car. The driver remained at the scene after the hijacking and was unharmed, Brown added. A preliminary investigation revealed that the offender was armed with a pistol and confronted the victim in the parking lot demanding her property and vehicle, said Brown
Brown said officers responded to the report of an armed hijacking in the Walmart parking lot on Saturday at approximately 2:30 p.m. As officers responded to the scene other officers set up a perimeter at the major intersections of the city.
Minutes later officers located the offender driving the stolen vehicle traveling northbound on Ga. Highway 74 from Ga. Highway 54, Brown said. The vehicle failed to yield to the officers and a vehicle pursuit was initiated. With the assistance of the Tyrone Police, Fairburn Police, Fayette County Sheriff, and the Fulton County Police, the suspect was pursued northbound on Hwy. 74 to Interstate I-85.
Brown said the offender avoided “Stop Sticks” deployed by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office in the area of Hwy. 74 at Milam Road continuing northbound on Hwy. 74. From I-85 northbound, the pursuit continued on Interstate 285. The suspect was involved in a motor vehicle collision while exiting the interstate at the intersection of Cascade Road and I-285 where he was taken into custody, said Brown.
Brown said investigators worked through the night to locate the vehicle the offender and the other suspect arrived in just prior to committing the robbery. The suspect vehicle was identified as a light gray 2002 Toyota Camry four door bearing North Carolina Tag ZVW-2181 with damage to the center of the bumper.
The Peachtree City Police Department thanked the Tyrone Police, Fairburn Police, Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, and the Fulton County Police for their assistance in apprehending the suspect. If anyone has information that would assist the police department in this or any other incidents please contact 770-487-8866 or submit an anonymous tip at
www.peachtree-city.org/police “Crime Tips”.
