Charges Pile Up On Snellville Armed Robbery Suspects

SNELLVILLE, GA -- New charges continue to be filed against four teens accused of beating and robbing their victims at gunpoint in two Friday incidents.

On Friday, Gwinnett County Police detectives obtained warrants for burglary and theft by deception against Thoushal Lucas, 19, of Snellville.

The charges come a day after armed robbery, hijacking and battery charges were leveled against 18-year-old Jashon Samuels, also of Snellville.

Samuels, Lucas, Timothy James McClendon, 17, and Irving Lewis Saunders, 17, face a variety of charges in two Friday robberies, during which police say they punched and kicked their victims in addition to pulling a gun on them.

The two robberies happened at Cash America Pawn and Cubesmart Self Storage, both on Stone Mountain Highway.

"We feel confident that as long as these four criminals stay incarcerated, the residents in Snellville can breathe a little easier," Gwinnett County Police spokeswoman Cpl. Michele Pihera said in a news release.

Police say that, on April 30, Lucas pawned several items at the same Cash America Pawn shop where he is accused of armed robbery and battery days later.

The items included an Xbox, Xbox games, PlayStation games and a hunting knife.

On May 1, a resident of Asperity Lane, in unincorporated Snellville, called police to report his home had been burglarized. He reported his Xbox and other items, including a hunting knife, as stolen.

Police say they were able to match the serial number on the console Lucas pawned with the one that was stolen.

Lucas and the other three suspects in Friday's robberies are being held at Gwinnett County Jail.

Pihera noted that the case is a good reminder to record the serial numbers of your electronics and take photographs of your valuables, in case they are stolen.