A serial robbery suspect and his alleged accomplice are behind bars today, the result of Fayette County Sheriff’s investigators breaking the case after a Fayetteville convenience store was robbed last month.
Charged with armed robbery are Lewis Flagg of Conley, Ga., and Roderick Thornton who was arrested in Gwinnett County, according to Fayette County Sheriff Barry Babb.
Sheriff Babb said it happened this way:
“On June 24, Fayette County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to 1850 South Highway 85, Fayetteville, Ga., in response to an armed robbery. The suspect entered the store, produced a black handgun and demanded the cash in the register and several rolls of lottery tickets. Once the clerk complied, the perpetrator fled the store.
“Fayette County detectives learned of 11 additional robberies around the Atlanta Metropolitan Area that were committed by the same individual,” Sheriff Babb said.
“On June 25, Fayette County Sheriff’s Investigators were in Conley, Ga., following up on leads from the robbery and encountered Lewis Flagg. Flagg was interviewed and consented to a search but was not detained or arrested at that time.
“Investigators attended a meeting with other agencies having similar robberies where valuable information sharing took place. Our investigators’ original person of interest, Lewis Flagg, was determined to be the suspect which led to arrest warrants from multiple jurisdictions for these robberies,” Sheriff Babb said.
“Flagg was taken into custody on July 10, 2013 by the United States Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force.
“Federal and state investigators suspected Flagg had assistance in committing some of these crimes. After several meetings and daily communication between agencies, Roderick Thornton was arrested by U.S. Marshals and Gwinnett County Police on July 11 and charged with armed robbery,” Sheriff Babb said.
Several agencies contributed to the investigation and arrests of Flagg and Thornton including The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Sandy Springs Police Department, Chamblee Police Department, Cobb County Police, Gwinnett County Police, Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office, Locust Grove Police Department, Atlanta Police Department, Lilburn Police Department, and the Suwanee Police Department.
“This is what happens when we all put our heads together,” Sheriff Babb said. “We were working off of very little evidence, but because of the information sharing of all of the agencies, we were able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It was great teamwork and we operate here at the Sheriff’s Office as a team, but I will have to single out our Detective Josh Shelton on a job well done.”
