Police K-9 Finds Armed Robbery Suspect Hiding In Bushes

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — An armed robbery suspect arrested last month by police has also been linked to reports of entering auto incidents in the same area. Dequavious Kentrell Barker, 19, of Austell was charged by Sandy Springs police with armed robbery, aggravated assault with intent to rob, hijacking a motor vehicle, obstruction and two counts of entering auto.

Officers were dispatched around 10:44 p.m. May 30 to a call of an armed robbery at Avia at North Springs apartments at 307 Marsh Trail Circle. According to an incident report released by Sandy Springs police, the caller told 9-1-1 dispatchers that his friend was walking in the parking lot when he was robbed at gunpoint by two men. The suspects fled on foot about five minutes before the call was made to ChatComm dispatchers.

Police arrived and met with the victim, who said he was robbed "went out to the parking lot near his friend's vehicle." The two men approached him from behind, and one suspect twisted the victim's arm behind his back while holding a firearm to his head, the victim told police.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here)

The gunman, according to the incident report, told the victim "not to look at him, do not yell, and do as they tell him to." While he was held at gunpoint, the victim said the other man patted him down and rummaged through his pockets. After searching the victim, he demanded the keys to the vehicle. The victim said he told the suspects he did not have the keys to the car. One of the suspects were able to unlock the car and, while it had push-start capabilities, it "needed the keys to start," the incident report said.

One of the suspects began searching inside the car while the gunman demanded money from the victim, the officer wrote in the report. The resident said he did not have any cash, so the suspect allegedly took his cell phone and house key. The pair fled the scene on foot.

Several officers were searching the area when a K-9 officer located one of two suspects, identified as Barker, hiding in the bushes across the street from the apartment complex in the area of 7000 Peachtree Dunwoody Road. Several items were found with this suspect, including the armed robbery victim's cell phone and some items police connected to a few entering autos reported in the 1200 block of Spalding Forest Court.

The report doesn't indicate if Barker's alleged accomplice was captured. Barker remains held at the Fulton County Jail without bond.

Photo: Dequavious Kentrell Barker. Credit: Fulton County Jail