By Joe Johnson
An Athens teen was arrested Friday in connection with a series of armed robberies last weekend, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department announced.
Police said that 16-year-old Laquavion Baughns of Zebulon Drive was charged with eight counts of armed robbery and one count of kidnapping.
He was taken into custody with the assistance of the University of Georgia Police Department, according to ACCPD.
Police said the robberies Baughns allegedly committed occurred last Saturday, in the 300 block of Pope Street where two victims were robbed at gunpoint by two males; another in the area of Second Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, where three victims were robbed at gunpoint by two males who stole an undisclosed amount of cash; and a third occurring in the 300 block of Willow Street, where two gunmen approached two victims and demanded money, but nothing was stolen.
The fourth armed robbery for which Baughns was also charged with kidnapping occurred early Sunday when two males, one armed with a gun, accosted a University of Georgia student in the area of Mithell and Williams streets and took the student to a nearby parking lot, where they held him down while searching for valuables. The student only had a cellphone with him, and the males ran away empty handed, according to police.
Baughns was charged as an adult, and police said they asked the sheriff’s office to not release his booking photo while the investigations were ongoing.
In addition to the incidents in which Baughns allegedly was involved, police are investigating three other robberies that occurred early Sunday:
At about 12:30 a.m., a victim was approached in the area of Vine and Hillside streets by a single gunman who demanded money, but nothing was stolen.
About 20 minutes later, in the area of Fourth Street and Bonnie Lane, two victims were approached by a gunman who demanded money, but nothing was stolen.
Soon after that, at about 1 a.m. Sunday, a victim was approached by a male brandishing a firearm in the area of Baxter and Finley streets. The suspect demanded money from the victim, but nothing was stolen.
Investigations into all of the robberies were ongoing, and police asked for anyone with information about any of the incidents to contact Lieutenant David Norris at (762) 400-7165 or david.norris@accgov.com.
Anonymous tips can be made by calling the Crime Stoppers confidential tip line at (706) 705-4775. Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.