Employees Were In Fear For Their Lives, Armed Robber Sentenced

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — Maria Garcia and Orreal Bustos said in court they were in fear for their lives when an armed man pointed a gun at them last year and robbed $14,000, a purse, a wedding ring and other jewerly from them and the business where they worked, Corona Billiards.

Judge George Hutchinson, III sentenced Nicholas Craig Dailey, 28, to 45 years with the first 25 to be served in prison for robbing Corona Billiards Nov. 20, 2016. Dailey was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault; possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and burglary, first degree.

At about 5 a.m. on the day of the robbery, Jack Collier, aka Jack Abernathy, was working a security job at Corona Billiards. He was at the back of the business cleaning mops. He reported that Dailey came running at him from behind the trees and was armed with a .380 handgun. According to Collier, Dailey was wearing all black clothing including a black hoodie and that hid most of his face.

Dailey forced Collier into the main front room of the business where there were two other employees: Garcia and Bustos. Dailey forced the victims to the ground and demanded money from Garcia. Nothing was taken from the other two employees. Dailey then went behind the counter and grabbed a money bag with approximately $14,000 in it, along with money from Garcia’s purse and jewelry including a wedding ring and two gold necklaces.

Gwinnett County received a tip that Collier’s brother Nicholas Dailey was involved in the robbery.

On the stand, through the assistance of an interpreter, both employees described how frightened they were for their lives and that of each other. Noriega testified, “He had the gun to her; I thought he was going to kill her,” referring to Garcia.

After four hours of deliberation the jury came back with a verdict of guilty on all six counts.

Photo courtesy Gwinnett County Police Department