Driver Robbed After Offering To Help Suspect Fetch Gas For Vehicle

The Bartow County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an armed robbery which occurred after a man offered to help the suspect obtain gas for his broken down vehicle.

According to an incident report released by the agency, a deputy was dispatched to QuikTrip at 1364 Joe Frank Harris Parkway around 11:43 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28.

The victim told the deputy he was in his vehicle exiting off the northbound ramp of Interstate 75 at exit 290 (S.R. 20) and as he approached the ramp, he noticed a male standing on the side of the road next to a pole.

The driver said the man, who was holding a gas can, told him his vehicle had broken down, the report states.

According to the report, the victim said he offered to give the suspect $10 and a ride to the gas station. The man entered the van in the backseat behind the driver. Once the vehicle was moving, the victim said the suspect “struck him in the back of his shoulder and placed what he believe to be a gun in his back and told him to go.”

The victim said he drove the vehicle westbound on S.R. 20 while the suspect allegedly continued to hold what he thought was a gun to his back and forced him to hand over $340 in cash.

Once they approached Cline-Smith Road, the victim was told to stop, and the suspect exited the vehicle. Once the suspect got out, the victim said he ”drove away in a hurry and continued to drive until he reached the Quiktrip parking lot where he felt it was safe and called 911.”

A passenger in the front seat of the vehicle corroborated the victim’s story to the deputy.

The suspect, who left the gas can in the back seat of the vehicle, is described as a white male in his early to mid 20s, 5’10’’ tall, weighs around 180 pounds and was wearing a white hoodie and blue jeans at the time of the incident. The victim also said the he doesn’t believe the suspect had any teeth.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the sheriff’s office’s Criminal Investigations Division at (770) 382-5050 ext. 3053.

Photo credit: Patch file