Phipps Plaza Carjacking Suspect Stays Behind Bars

The alleged mastermind behind a series of carjackings and robberies in Atlanta will stay incarcerated for the time being, a judge has ruled.

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Steven Spigner, 17, was denied bond during a Monday hearing. Spigner is accused of leading a group of young men who stole cars and robbed women, often using violence to get what they wanted.

Spigner and two others are suspected of being responsible for the early August assault and carjacking of a woman in the Phipps Plaza parking lot.

Just after midnight on Aug. 4, a woman was returning to her car from the Twist Restaurant and Tapas Bar when she was accosted by three black males, now thought to be Spinger and co-conspirators Ethan Gathright and Hoye Anderson.

The three then proceeded to attack the woman, beating her to the ground while demanding the keys to her 2007 silver BMW 5 Series. One of the assailants allegedly threatened to “f***ing shoot” the woman if she did not comply.

Once they got the woman’s keys and her purse, the men sped off in the BMW and were last seen heading west on Peachtree Road. The car was recovered in Stone Mountain earlier this month.

Police suspect that Spigner and his crew had spent the month of July carjacking and assaulting women for their purses and cell phones, stealing a Mercedes Benz and a Ford Escape from unsuspecting victims. According to Gathright, none of the cars were sold for parts, but used by Spigner as a “taxi” to drive his friends around town for a fee.

One of these excursions led to the group’s downfall. Police say that Spigner was texting and driving the stolen Ford Escape with two 16-year-olds as passengers when he hit a mailbox while distracted. Police picked up the two passengers, and the youngsters gave up Spigner’s name.

Spigner was arrested on Aug. 14, and gave police the names of the members of his crew. Gathright, 17, was picked up on Aug. 19, and 18-year-old Anderson was also arrested last week.

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. He made his first court appearance in DeKalb County on Aug 15.