With assistance

from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a Peachtree City man is now

in custody in Gainesville, Fla., facing local charges of robbing a convenience

store and stealing several thousand dollars from a local restaurant.

Michael Lorusso,

32, was arrested Tuesday and is awaiting extradition to Fayette County

so he may face robbery and theft charges, according to the Peachtree City

Police Department, which investigated the cases.

The robbery

charge stems from an incident at the Pit Stop convenience store May 8

in which an unarmed suspect forcibly took an unreported amount of cash

from the cashier on duty, according to a police report.

The theft charge

is related to the taking of over $8,000 from an unsecured office of the

Atlanta Bread Company in Peachtree City May 19, police said. Lorusso was

employed at the restaurant for a short period of time prior to the alleged

theft and failed to show up for work after the incident occurred, police

indicated.

Detectives

found evidence at both crime scenes linking Lorusso to the crime, according

to police.

Lorusso was

tracked down after police questioned one of his acquaintances while serving

a search warrant at his apartment on Wisdom Road, according to police

accounts. It was then that police learned Lorusso had fled the state soon

after the alleged theft from the Atlanta Bread Company.

At that time,

the FBI was contacted for assistance in apprehending Lorusso. A federal

warrant was later taken for his arrest on charges of unlawful flight to

avoid prosecution, police said.

The FBI located

Lorusso after learning he had purchased bus tickets and was en route from

Gainesville to Atlanta. He was taken into custody without incident by

Florida officers, police said.

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