Sterling Strength spent 27 hours on the run after he was allegedly involved in a shooting outside United Community Bank in Cornelia on Saturday. During that time, police say he ditched a stolen truck he was driving and made his way to a house in Banks County where he had stayed three weeks earlier. It was there at the house on Bellamy Road in Homer that deputies arrested the 31-year-old Monroe man.
A female resident who knew police were looking for Strength says he showed up at her house just before 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 4. He wanted the rest of his belongings and a ride. When he threatened to burn down her house if she didn’t give him a ride, she called 911.
As it turned out, Strength got a ride with the responding deputies all the way to the Banks County Jail.
According to the incident report, deputies found Strength at the house with a stolen gun in his boot and $400 in stolen cash. At the time of his arrest, he was being sought for questioning in connection with the bank shooting and a truck theft in Baldwin.
‘Wasn’t trying to kill anyone’
Mary Sheriff Welborn told Cornelia police Strength was driving her husband’s stolen truck. She confronted him in the bank parking lot around 11:15 a.m. on Saturday, September 3.
“A verbal confrontation ensued at which time Sterling Strength reportedly brandished a firearm at Welborn,” says Cornelia Police Chief Jonathan Roberts. “At this time, Welborn returned to and entered her vehicle and retrieved her firearm.”
Three females and a male passenger in the truck exited the stolen vehicle, says Chief Roberts. They fled on foot toward Ingles grocery store across the street from the bank on Highway 441 at Level Grove Road.
“Welborn fired at the vehicle as it was backing up and exiting the parking lot,” Roberts says.
No one was struck or injured in the shooting. In a post on Now Habersham’s Facebook page, Welborn says she shot out the tire so “they couldn’t get far. Wasn’t trying to kill anyone.”
Amber Butler was inside the bank and her stepson was outside when the shooting occurred.
“They had us get in the vault. Kind of scary not knowing what was going on and having loved ones outside,” she says.
Ditched truck and charges
Habersham County Deputies located the abandoned truck on Straight Street approximately one mile from the bank. Investigators identified three of the four passengers as Tiana Parker, Michelle Robertson, and Shawn Harkness. A third passenger was not immediately identified.
Cornelia police questioned Welborn, Parker, Robertson, and several witnesses on the day of the shooting. Chief Roberts says charges are pending against those involved in the incident at United Community Bank. In addition, Banks County deputies charged Strength with theft by receiving stolen property and a weapons charge.
As of Monday evening, September 5, he remained in the Banks County Jail. No bond has been set.
The Habersham County Sheriff’s office is investigating the vehicle theft.
This article has been updated with new information.
