By Joe Johnson
One arrest has been made in seven armed robberies in Athens that were reported over the weekend.
According to Athens-Clarke police:
The first armed robbery occurred at about 12:04 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 16 when two victims were robbed at gunpoint in the 300 block of Pope Street by two males who stole an undisclosed amount of cash.
The second hold-up happened at about 12:30 a.m. when three victims were robbed at gunpoint of an undisclosed amount of cash by two males in the area of Second Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Parkway.
About 10 minutes later, two victims were approached by two males brandishing firearms in the 300 block of Willow Street. The suspects demanded money from the victims, but nothing was stolen from them.
The fourth incident occurred at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 17 when 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.
The seventh and final armed robbery of the weekend occurred shortly before 1:45 a.m., Sunday when officers responded to Cloud Bar on East Clayton Street, where a 20-year-old male stated that while inside the bar a male pulled out a gun, pointed it at his chest and demanded that the victim give him his necklace. Some of the victim's friends saw what was happening and intervened by pulling the suspect away from the victim. The victim and witnesses then found an officer outside of the bar and reported what happened.
While speaking with officers outside the bar, they observed the suspect walking. An officer approached the suspect and attempted to detain him but the suspect was able to break free and run. The offender ran into the parking deck that is located below Georgia Heights. Several officers responded and began searching the parking deck at which point they located the suspect hiding behind a vehicle. The suspect again began to run from officers at which time an officer successfully deployed a taser. The offender was then handcuffed without further incident.
The suspect, identified by police as 25-year-old Kaleb Anthony Green of Union Point, was charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
He was being held without bond at the county jail as of Monday afternoon.
Referring to the robberies in which no arrests were made, Athens-Clarke County police Lt. Shaun Barnett said in an email, “It's early in the investigation so we are not ruling out that they could not be related; however, there are similarities that lead us to believe that all of these incidents could have been done by the same suspect(s) and that the Oct. 17 robberies could have been committed by one of the same suspects from the Oct. 16 robberies.”
He said the suspects were described as black males between 5-feet 9 and 6 feet tall. Both had black hooded sweatshirts with the hoods drawn tightly to conceal their faces. Both were wearing black masks as well.
The same description was given for the single suspect in the Oct. 17 robberies, according to Barnett, ACCPD’s public information officer.
Investigations into the unsolved armed robberies was continuing, and police asked for anyone with information about any of the incidents to contact Lt. David Norris (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 that leads to an arrest.