What started out as a routine traffic stop early Sunday morning led Fayetteville

police to two Atlanta men suspected of an armed robbery and assault that

occurred moments earlier, police said.

The suspects, identified as Rimion Brooks, 24, and Albert Smith, 29, are

accused of robbing a Fayetteville photographer at the Pit Stop gas station

on Ga. Highway 85 south before 3 a.m., police said. Brooks pulled a gun on

the victim and struck his hand several times with the gun, dislocating the

victim's finger, police said.

The officer first noticed Brooks and Smith's vehicle when it slammed

on its brakes to avoid running a red light, said Lt. Beverly Trainor of the

Fayetteville Police Department. The officer then noticed the vehicle U-turned

in the middle of Hwy. 85 near Stonewall Avenue, Trainor added.

The officer turned around to follow the car south on Hwy. 85 and noticed

it had pulled off to the side of the road, with three people fleeing on foot

into a wooded area, Trainor said.

With assistance from other Fayetteville officers and Fayette County sheriff's

deputies, Brooks and Smith were found and arrested, Trainor said. Also arrested

were another person who fled the vehicle on foot and another who stayed with

the truck; the latter two were not charged with the crime on advice from

the district attorney's office, Trainor said.

The weapon used in the crime was also found: a .40-cal Ruger handgun, Trainor

said.

The metal box of camera equipment that had been taken from the victim was

found in the suspects' vehicle, Trainor said. The equipment was valued

at $1,600, police said.

The victim told police he was sitting in his car with the passenger door

open when he noticed a truck pull up behind his vehicle, Trainor said. Brooks

then pulled the gun and demanded money from the victim, Trainor said.

The victim began to reach