DeKalb, Phipps Plaza Carjacking Suspect Appears in Court

Steven Spigner, 17, told a DeKalb County judge Friday that he was not involved in two carjacking cases where women where beaten, but the teen remains in jail.

Spigner was also indicted by a grand jury Friday in Fulton County for charges connected to a beating and carjacking outside Phipps Plaza in Buckhead earlier this month, reports WSB TV. Police say the victim, Michelle Wing, helped with crucial eyewitness evidence.

According to police, Spigner is no stranger to beatings and carjackings; they now suspect the teenager was behind three similar crimes in July.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution cites a police spokesman who says Spigner was involved in a July 5 attack in the Edgewood Retail District which saw a woman punched in the head and her Mercedes-Benz ML350 stolen. Two days later, Spigner and the newly-stolen Mercedes were allegedly involved in a robbery where the victim was hit in the face.

Police say that five days later, Spigner carjacked another person on Moreland Avenue, this time threatening the victim with a gun.

Spigner has been charged with two counts of hijacking a motor vehicle, two counts of robbery by force, two counts of battery, and a count of aggravated battery.

The teen was already in jail without bond on the initial arrest when he was charged in the three other cases. He will stay in jail until his preliminary hearing set for Aug. 25 in DeKalb County Superior Court.