Sheriff’s investigators have arrested a man in connection with the robbery of Mr. Pip’s convenience store on Nov. 27.

The store, located on U.S. 27 North, was robbed by a white male who entered the store wielding a kitchen knife and demanding the money from the register. The clerk complied, placing the cash register drawer on the counter. The man made off with approximately $360.

A witness reported seeing a white Ford Taurus in the area of the convenience store at the time of the robbery with a white male driver and another man walking toward the store. Decatur County Sheriff’s Deputies Pat Trolinger and Steve Singleton believed they recognized the vehicle as belonging to Charlie Railford Toliver Jr.

Investigators went to Toliver’s home, located at 263 Brinson Airbase Road in Bainbridge, and received consent to search the vehicle. They found clothing that matched the clothing seen on surveillance footage of the robbery.

Investigator Terry Phillips said when reviewing security footage prior to the robbery, Toliver and the armed robber were seen visiting the store. One of Toliver’s relatives later identified the man who entered the store with the knife as 21-year-old Joshua Christopher Luke of Coffee County, Ala.

Friday, investigators arrested 43-year-old Toliver, charging him with armed robbery. Luke was arrested in Alabama by Coffee County Sheriff’s Office deputies and charged with armed robbery out of Decatur County.

“A combination of good eye witnesses and a good camera security system led to the arrest of Toliver and Luke,” Investigator Phillips said.

Four arrested in gas station burglary

Four young men were arrested Sunday in connection with a burglary at Las Lomas convenience store at 801 E. Water St. in Bainbridge.

Shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday, Bainbridge Public Safety Officer Taylor Mills responded to an alarm at Las Lomas. When he arrived, he found the glass front doors smashed and several items from the store on the ground inside and in the parking lot.

A witness to the burglary said four males ran from the store when the alarm sounded and led police to the residence on Broughton Street where they ran. The four males, Arron Neal, 17, of 1105 E. Broughton St.; Kevin Sutton, 18, of 808 E. Broughton St.; Bacari Rashad Wilson, 21, of 1204 E. Water St.; and Anthony Wright, 20, of 808 E. Broughton St., were identified by the witness and by their clothing.

Inside the residence, BPS investigators found several items stolen from the store, masks worn during the burglary and shoes containing glass fragments.

All four males were arrested and charged with burglary.

Fleeing with children ends in a crash

Decatur County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man on the night of Nov. 26 after a police pursuit ended in a crash.

According to incident reports, a Chattahoochee, Fla., Police Department officer attempted to stop a vehicle. The driver fled—reportedly driving recklessly—and turned off the vehicle’s lights in an attempt to lose the officer. Chattahoochee police later found the vehicle wrecked in the woods on the 2700 block of Booster Club Road located in southwestern Decatur County.

The driver, 21-year-old Fred Shelton of Chattahoochee, Fla., was found trying to exit the vehicle and was taken into custody. Officers found a bag containing 26 small bags of marijuana on the ground outside the car. Three small children were in the back seat of the car. The children—ages 6, 5 and 4—sustained minor injuries and were taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital by Gadsden County EMS.

Shelton was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, cruelty to children (first degree) and possession of drug-related objects.

Arrests & Citations

The following arrests and citations, occurring between Nov. 27-Dec. 1, have been reported by Bainbridge Public Safety and the Decatur County Jail:

• Lynn Holley Bryan, 30, 150 Crawford Road, Bainbridge, disorderly conduct, SO;

• Patrick Frazier, 44, 222 E. Planter St., Bainbridge, disorderly conduct, BPS;

• Carson Brandon Givens, 34, 241 Martin Road, Bainbridge, battery (two counts), obstruction, criminal damage to government property (first degree), SO;

• Allen Michael Gunn, 19, 1119 Pine Hill Road, Bainbridge, forgery in the first degree (nine counts), SO;

• Linda Dianna Johnson, 51, 605 N. Clay St., Bainbridge, DUI, stop sign violation, GSP;

• Nolan Lee Plunkett, 60, Tallahassee, Fla., DUI, GSP;

• Darrien Maurice Sanders, 48, 1321 Third St., Bainbridge, littering, obstruction, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, BPS;

• Cody Terrell Stinson, 29, 165 Fountain Drive, Bainbridge, deposit account fraud, probation violation—original charge deposit account fraud, BPS;

• Shontrel Thomas, 31, 110 Columbia St., Bainbridge, obstruction, BPS;

• Henry Leonard Williamson, 22, Donalsonville, Ga., theft by receiving stolen property, BPS;