Rockdale Police Searching for Armed Robbery Suspect

Police in Rockdale County are still attempting to find a suspect who has been accused of robbing multiple people at gunpoint.

These incidents occurred at numerous apartment complexes throughout the city of Conyers. According to reports, the suspect is a man who wore a black mask and used a handgun with a laser scope. All of the robberies occurred between 4:00 am and 6:00 am.

One of the victims reported, “As I closed the door, a guy was standing there with a gun,” she said, “and he said give me your money.” The victim told the man that she didn't have any money on her. She even opened up her wallet to show him. He then allegedly put the laser scope on her forehead.

Similar situations were reported in all of these incidents, which is why police believe there is only one suspect involved. They are asking for anyone with information to call in.

As a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer, my responsibility is to find the truth, to defend the truth, and to make sure that an individual maintains his or her presumption of innocence until evidence proves otherwise. In today's post, I will outline the law behind armed robbery in the state of Georgia.

Armed Robbery in Georgia

Armed robbery in Georgia is defined by Georgia Law in O.C.G.A. §16-8-41 as:

A person commits the offense of armed robbery when, with intent to commit theft, he or she takes property of another from the person or the immediate presence of another by use of an offensive weapon, or any replica, article, or device have the appearance of such weapon.

Courts have gone back and forth through the years as to what constitutes an offensive weapon as well as if replica or toys can be considered offensive weapons. After years of debating, it has been established that an offensive weapon includes not only weapons which are offensive per se, but also embraces other instrumentalities not normally considered to be offensive in and of themselves but which may be found by a jury likely to produce death or great bodily injury depending on the manner and means of their use.

Armed robbery is also a felony. An armed robbery conviction can include a potential sentence of ten to twenty years in prison with the very minimum being ten years in prison with no early release - even a life sentence.

Practice Note

Not everyone who is accused of a crime is guilty of that crime. The reality is that situations involving armed robbery are moments of high tension and fear. The scenes are horrifying. This can lead to desperation (and rightfully so) to find and arrest the suspect as quickly as possible. However, this does not mean that there is only one man behind all of these crimes.