The Hall County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a Monday afternoon, June 15, armed robbery where the fleeing suspect wrecked his vehicle and later died.
At approximately 3 p.m., Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a call about an armed robbery in progress at a residence in the 1300 block of Marlow Drive in Gainesville. According to preliminary details, the male suspect brandished a handgun and robbed a man and woman at the home, took an undisclosed amount of cash, and left the scene in a black Nissan car.
As Deputies were responding to the call, they encountered a vehicle matching the description of the robber’s car at the intersection of Marlow Drive and West Ridge Road. Deputies attempted a traffic stop, but the man behind the wheel drove away. Deputies, assisted by Gainesville Police Officers, pursued the car for a short distance with the man circling back to Marlow at West Ridge, where he was involved in a traffic accident.
The driver, 44, got out of the vehicle and ran on foot but was located by deputies and officers a short time later. When they found him, he had visible injuries to his face and head from the traffic accident. Deputies immediately called Hall County Fire Services who arrived quickly and transported him to Northeast Georgia Medical Center where he later died.
When law enforcement located the driver, he had a bag containing the firearm used in the robbery as well as cash. In addition to the local incident, the driver had two outstanding warrants, one for felony probation in Harris County, GA, and another for possession of dangerous drugs in San Francisco County, CA.
The robbery remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division. The traffic accident is being investigated by the Georgia State Patrol. The man’s body had been sent to the medical examiner for an autopsy.
The Sheriff’s Office is attempting to notify the man’s family before releasing his name.
