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Good Job, Columbia County Sheriff's Department!! Thank you for keeping us safe!!!!
Four men are in custody after a Tuesday evening purse snatching during which an Evans woman was dragged through a grocery store parking lot.
According to police, the woman, 65, was getting into her vehicle at about 7:30 p.m. outside Kroger at 4355 Washington Road, when four men in a silver colored Cadillac drove up.
One of the men jumped out and tried to take her purse, according to a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office report.
However, the woman refused to let go, even when the man jumped into the backseat of the car with the purse and the driver accelerated. She told police that she was dragged several feet before her purse strap broke and the men drove away.
A deputy later chased a similar vehicle speeding on Gibbs Road. He and another officer eventually found the car stopped at the end of Holly Hill Road and saw Tony Lamar McClendon, 19, of Taylor Street in Augusta, get out and flee into a wooded area. Three other men in the vehicle were detained. They were Christopher Johnson, 21, of the 2800 block of Royal Street, Augusta; Brandon Jamal Curry, 19, of the 2100 block of B Street, Augusta; and Johnathan Devar Harrell, of the 500 block of Richmond Hill Road, Augusta.
Using the K-9 unit, police tracked Mr. McClendon to Myers Lane where they say he stole a Nissan Altima, drove through a resident’s yard, parked it in a nearby driveway and again tried to flee on foot. Police believe it was Mr. McClendon who drug the woman through the parking lot.
Investigators said they found the woman’s checkbook and a broken purse buckle in the front seat of the Cadillac.
After interviewing the suspects, police found her purse and wallet near Gibbs and Hereford Farm roads.
All four men were charged with strong arm robbery. Mr. McClendon also was charged for stealing the Nissan.
Additionally, Mr. Johnson was charged with possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime. Columbia County sheriff’s Capt. Steve Morris said Mr. Johnson was carrying a gun at the time of the robbery, but didn’t produce it.
More charges against the men are pending, Capt. Morris said. He was unsure when bond might be set for the men, but he doesn’t expect it to happen today.
Comments
Good Job, Columbia County Sheriff's Department!! Thank you for keeping us safe!!!!
Good Job CCSD!!! Now the low lifes that tried to steal a womans purse that was 65 years old maybe you need to be taken to Golds Gym and let some men use your sorry [filtered word] as a punching bag. Show you how it is to take advanage of somebody that is weaker than you.
or better yet tie you to a car and drag you several (Hundred)feet, Car doing at least 60 plus MPH
Those purse snatchers better watch it. They never know what is in a purse. How about a purse used as a pet snake carrier?
How about a purse that is used as a holster?
four thugs againest an elderly woman...a thug pointed a gun at a babys head....whats up with this brand of criminal? it seems that since the first of the year a new low life of thug has been spawned.....................
That makes at least 2 incidents in that same parking lot recently. How about some stepped up patrols??
This is the second incident I have heard about at this Kroger! The first was when an elderly man was kidnapped at the store and was taken on an ATM spree with his car!!! He was dropped off in Appling after it was over and the creep got into another vehicle that was following them.
Why are these scum getting away with this at our local Krogers? An elderly lady was also a victim at the 15th St Kroger not so long ago.
Actually, I pulled into the parking lot at about 8:20 pm last night and it had already happened, there were undercover police cars and patrol cars, so she was not out at midnight. Augusta Chronicle get the times right.Anyway, Im glad they caught the lowlifes that would do something like this in daylight, no less!!
If only this was like the movies picture this: as she was being dragged, she somehow had enough strength to reach into her purse, pull out her gun and SHOOT the driver in the head, he then veers off the road as her purse strap pops (freeing her from the grasp and without serious harm) she then watches with delight as they crash into a pole, flip over several times laughing to herself as the car burst into flames as she can hear them screaming on fire with no help in sight. Good job Columbia County. May they rot in jail. I betcha at the trial somebody's mother/pastor is going to say, he is a good boy never got into trouble, sings on the choir etc. *SHRUGS*
change you can count on!
how about a purse with a homemade bomb in it?
democrats strike again...............
How in the he$$ do you get to that LaTwon. Gezz you flipping idiot!!!
Good job Columbia Cty. deputies...Probably should have shot
at least one of them to put some fear into them, as some judge
will probably let them back out into parking lots again soon...
Great Job for catching these crooks CCSO. I passed by that Kroger last night with my two teen children around 10:30p.m. on the way to McDonalds. I noticed a concealed CCSO patrol car parked across the street in a shopping area directly across from Kroger. A new Publix is being built directly across the street from my subdivision. Let's pray that they have sense enough to have great security and cameras.
Someone needs to give those thugs a good you know what whoopin'! Give them a taste of their own medicine.
Publish the names and addresses of the perps so they can be deealt with if they are let out of jail.
Their mug shots are up now. If you go to Yahoo Local you can see them. Rotten teenagers!
ladyjanegrey, this new brand of thug is usually low-income and low in the education department. They think school is a joke and turn to crime when their rap and sports careers never materialize as they had hoped. Im teaching them now...they want the easy way out, they don't want to work for anything or earn anything, they don't have any parental involvement (because their parents are 13 to 17 years older than them), they don't have any respect for ANYTHING and they don't think!!!
Sounds like hate crime to me. And if it is hate crime then doudle the sentences, if they go to jail that is. BTW I wonder how long it would take the store to install cameras on every pole in the parking lot if people just quit shopping there?
I almost forgot. Who wants to bet the four were all innocent teens? I say that because there was no description or names provided. Can't give out names of teen punks without mamas approval, because it may give them an inferiority complex or something.
Four young men against a 65 year old woman. The old adage of "There is no honor among thieves" sure applies here.
Put'em in jail? How about HARD LABOR on the side of the road with a ball and chain strapped to their leg between the hours of 11 and 6 when it's really hot.. We need to do something to detour this behavior, not put them in an air conditioned cell..
storiesihaveread, latwon got that they were democrats simply because they were driving a cadillac (which more than likely means they were african american.) It's safe to say that african-americans that aren't bettering themselves are democrats because democrats are all for giving free hand-outs from the working class.
Too bad they didn't run into a 41 yo man with 9mm +p Hollowpoints....
Just like I have been telling you. Get a gun, learn how to use it. Get a permit. Be aware of your surroundings especially in a parking lot. Have your hand on the gun at all times when walking in a public area. Be ready to defend yourself from these little scumbag thieves. A dead scumbag is a good scumbag, teenager or adult. When she was dragged she must have "feared for her life" and had every justification to fill that car full of lead. They would have caught at least one or two of them very easily because they would have been at the emergency room or the morgue. When you kill 'em you don't have to jail 'em, provide a lawyer, and have a trial. Think of it as a cost savings measure in these hard economic times. When you shoot one of these punks you are probably saving your life or the life of his next victim. It's a good deed. Just do it.
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