Two brothers remain in the
Fayette County jail after a magistrate denied them bail on multiple felony
charges during a hearing Tuesday.
Melvin Edward Mitchell, 22,
of Atlanta, and Marvin Edwin Mitchell, 22, of Jonesboro, face felony murder
charges for the Sunday night death of Union City veterinarian Jason Andrew
Trotman, who had just finished a shift at the Southern Crescent Animal
Hospital in Fayetteville.
The two suspects fled a pursuing
Fayetteville police officer after robbing the Fayetteville Ingles supermarket
at gunpoint late Sunday night, police said. The chase reached speeds of
110 miles per hour moments before their vehicle struck and killed Trotman,
who was waiting for the traffic light to change at the intersection of
North Jeff Davis Drive and Ga. Highway 85, police said.
The officer paced their vehicle
at 110 mph on North Jeff Davis Drive, according to warrants filed by the
Fayetteville Police Department. The speed limit in that area is 35 mph.
The Mitchells, who are twin
brothers, also face charges of armed robbery, possession of a firearm
during the commission of a crime and false imprisonment.
Melvin Mitchell, who was identified
to elude a police officer, speeding, failure to obey a traffic control
device, failure to maintain lane, leaving the scene of an auto accident
and reckless driving.
The accident killed Trotman
as the father of three was driving home after voluntarily working a longer
shift at the 24-hour animal clinic. The Mitchells' Oldsmobile Alero struck
Trotman's Nissan Pathfinder on the driver's side, causing it to roll over,
according to Fayetteville police.
The accident is being investigated
Mitchell.
After the crash, both suspects
tried to get away on foot but were apprehended by officers moments later,
said Lt. Tom Kirkbride of the Fayetteville Police Department.
Trotman was waiting for the
light to turn green so he could drive north on Ga. Highway 314, Kirkbride
added.
No one was seriously injured
during the holdup at Ingles, police said.
Police recovered approximately
$6,500 that was taken in the robbery when the masked suspects entered
the store, brandishing weapons and ordering employees around the store,
Kirkbride said. As the pair fled the store, a witness in the parking lot
passed a description of their car on to police, Kirkbride said.
A Fayetteville officer spotted
the vehicle, a red 1999 Oldsmobile Alero, as it ran the red light at the
intersection of Ga. Highway 92 and Jimmie Mayfield Avenue, Kirkbride said.
The officer pursued the vehicle north on Jimmie Mayfield but later slowed
down after reaching "excessive speed," Kirkbride said.
The officer was close enough
to witness the accident when it occurred, Kirkbride added.
One of the suspects was treated
for minor injuries at Fayette Community Hospital before he was booked
at the Fayette County Jail, Kirkbride said.
It is a policy of the Fayetteville
Police Department to allow vehicle pursuits based on the judgment of the
individual officer, Kirkbride said, noting that policy is in line with
national police standards.
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