By Joe Johnson
Law enforcement personnel from four agencies on Wednesday afternoon were searching for three suspects in an armed robbery that occurred in Winder.
The incident occurred at about 3:30 p.m. in the Bellingrath Plantation subdivision off state Highway 81, near Center Hill Church Road, according to Winder Police Chief Jim Fullington.
A vehicle reportedly pulled into a yard there and two male occupants armed with handguns robbed a backpack from a juvenile resident, Fullington said. They were accompanied by another male and two females, he said.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said that when deputies received information that the suspects’ vehicle was at a house on Giles Road off Atlanta Highway near the Barrow County Airport, deputies went there and took two females into custody. However, three males ran off into some woods upon seeing deputies arriving.
A helicopter from the Gwinnett Police Department hovered over the Jasmine Hollow subdivision and used a public address system to alert residents on the ground that they were looking for three white males who were running from police, one with red hair and another with brown hair, and urging residents to call 911 if they saw the suspects. Assisting in the search were K-9 units from the Gwinnett County, Auburn and Lilburn police departments.
The contents of the stolen backpack and other details were not available as of early Wednesday evening. At 8:15 p.m. the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office posted this on its Facebook page: “The current information we have is that the suspects have left the area and there is no danger to the public. Please contact Winder Police Department for any information on this incident.“