Four Charged in Canton Armed Robberies

Four residents, including one juvenile, have been arrested and charged in connection to two armed robberies and aggravated assault incident that occurred in Canton late last week and early this week.

Detectives with the Canton Police Department on Tuesday arrested Canton residents Ashley Denise Conway, 19, Samier S. Townsend, 18, Aniecea Dewalt, 17 and a juvenile whose name has not been released, the agency said in a press release.

Conway, Townsend and the juvenile are all charged with four counts of aggravated assault and one count each of aggravated battery, robbery and battery. Additionally, the juvenile and Townsend each face an additional armed robbery charge.

Dewalt is charged with four counts of aggravated assault and one count each of aggravated battery and armed robbery.

Officers around 2:36 p.m. March 24 were dispatched to an armed robbery call at 114 Brookside Court. The alleged victim said he was walking near his home when a newer model Chevrolet sedan driven by a woman pulled up to his location. A young man got out of the vehicle, “brandished a handgun and told the victim to give him all of his money,” Canton police said.

The man told officers that he “quickly turned around and began walking back to his residence with his children.”

“He said the suspect and vehicle followed him while the perpetrator continued to demand his money,” the agency said. “The victim relayed that when he reached his residence, he pulled out his cell phone and the suspect and vehicle fled the area.”

Once receiving the report, detectives and deputies with the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office began patrolling the area in an effort to capture the suspects. A detective eventually spotted a gold Chevrolet occupied by individuals who matched the description of the suspects of an armed robbery in the River Ridge at Canton apartment complex along Reinhardt College Parkway.

The four suspects were detained, and detectives obtained more witness statements and evidence that ”positively identified these individuals as being the perpetrators of the armed robbery on Brookside Court,” Canton police said.

RELATED:

• Suspect Wearing Ski Mask Resurfaces, Robs CVS Pharmacy
• Man, Teen Indicted in Christmas Day Armed Robbery
• Canton Teens Charged With Christmas Day Armed Robbery
• Canton Police Investigate Armed Robberies

Along with the Brookside Court incident, detectives have also connected the four suspects to a strong-arm robbery that occurred Monday, March 23 and an aggravated assault that took place Saturday, March 21.

Officers on March 21 responded to 128 Juniper Street and met a man who’d been shot in the face by two people in a gold Chevrolet.

The man said he was walking near Birch Street when a young man and woman in the gold car pulled up to him and after a “very short conversation,” the driver allegedly shot the victim in the face with what’s believed to be a BB gun and drive away.

The victim sustained non-life threatening injuries and was treated and released on scene.

Around 7 p.m. March 23, officers responded to the area of Center and Highland streets. A man told officers he was walking in the area when a woman approached him and asked to use his cell phone. The man declined the woman’s request and two men who were standing nearby ”jumped him, struck him in the face and stole his phone before they all fled the scene on foot,” the agency said.

While the four have been charged in connection to these cases, police note the three incidents remain under investigation and more information may be released as it becomes available. Additionally, the victims mentioned in Canton police’s press release were all of Hispanic origin.

Canton Police Chief Mark Mitchell commended the work of detectives, deputies and officers with both Canton police and the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office who collaborated in their efforts to solve the crimes.

He also said he was “thankful” that none of the victims were seriously injured ”as a result of these violent crimes.”

“Our hope is that the citizens who live in this area of the city will feel more at ease now as they take walks with their families, without the fear of becoming a victim of a violent crime,” he added.

Photos: from left, Ashley Denise Conway, Samier S. Townsend and Amiecea Dewalt. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff’s Office