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DECATUR — Police said they have caught a Decatur man armed with a handgun modified to work as a machine gun and they believe he is responsible for an armed robbery.
A sworn affidavit said Decatur police detectives tracked the 19-year-old masked man down after they suspect he robbed a gas station on West 1st Drive around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Detective Brad Hall, who signed the affidavit, said officers got a tip on the man’s identity later that morning after posting a surveillance image of the suspect on the police department’s Facebook page.
Hall said police believe the robber had entered the store earlier that night, at 12:39 a.m. while not wearing a mask, before returning 50 minutes later to carry out the robbery. Police had surveillance images of his face both masked and unmasked, Hall said.
By 11:30 a.m. Hall said detectives were knocking on the door of the home where he lives with his mother. “I showed (the mother) the still image (unmasked) that was on Facebook,” Hall said.” She positively identified this subject as her son.”
But Hall said the mother “could not say for sure” if the masked surveillance image of the robber was also her son, whom she said was now asleep in his bedroom.
Police woke him up and he “denied any involvement in the armed robbery”, Hall said. He quoted the man as claiming to have been at work but the detective said police had been unable so far to confirm his alibi.
The man then refused to allow a search of his home but police got a judge to sign off on a search warrant Wednesday afternoon.
“During the search the following items were located: Glock .45 caliber handgun (loaded with an extended magazine), .45 caliber ammo, 9mm ammo, .223 caliber ammo, .40 caliber ammo, several other magazines for firearms and a modification switch for the Glock handgun that would allow it to be fired as a fully automatic weapon,” Hall said.
The detective said the gun was found in a bathroom trash can next to the man’s bedroom and the magazine and ammunition were in his room. Hall said a 19-year-old girl present in the house later admitted to having moved the gun from underneath the man’s bed and hiding it in the bathroom while he was being questioned about the robbery.
“The armed robbery is still under investigation at this time,” Hall added.
The sworn affidavit said the man has not yet been booked on robbery charges but was booked on preliminary charges of possession of a machine gun and possession of a firearm and ammunition while having no FOID card.
He is being held in the Macon County Jail with bail set at $150,000, requiring him to post a bond of $15,000 to be released.
All preliminary charges are subject to review by the office of the state’s attorney.
Joseph A. Williams faces preliminary charges of aggravated resisting a peace officer, obstruction of justice, possession of machine gun and weapon by a felon, aggravated discharge of a weapon and unlawful use of weapon, and attempted murder of a peace officer in connection with the shooting of a Decatur police officer on Jan. 8, 2022. READ MORE
William A. Hosea faces preliminary charges of reckless discharge of a firearm and endangering the life of a child in connection with the Jan. 6 shooting of a 3-year-old child. READ MORE
Randolph Hayes is pleading not guilty to a charge of burglary. Prosecutors allege he stole a landline phone and then tried to sell it back to the victim. He was on parole at the time after having been convicted of an earlier burglary offense.
Byron D. Theus Jr. is pleading not guilty to multiple counts of home invasion, armed robbery and aggravated kidnapping in connection with a home invasion the night of Nov. 20, 2018. READ MORE
Jetrevius O. Jarrett has been arrested on first-degree murder charges in connection with the fatal Christmas Eve shooting of Efrem O. Jones. READ MORE
Phillip J. Gehrken, 52, of Forsyth has pleaded not guilty to three alternate counts of first degree murder stemming from the July 11 fatal shooting of 51-year-old victim Kevin Cooper. READ THE STORY HERE.
Emmanuel White, 18, is charged in Moultrie County with two counts of armed violence, possession of a stolen firearm, unlawful possession of a stolen/converted motor vehicle, possession of methamphetamine and defacing identification marks on a firearm. READ THE STORY
Defendant was sentenced to 36 months probation in November after pleading guilty to possession of a stolen firearm in a plea deal that saw all other charges dismissed. He was also sentenced to 149 days in jail with credit for 149 days already served.
Aaron L. Hand, 33, was sentenced to 14 years in prison Jan. 20 after pleading guilty to a charge of committing aggravated kidnapping while armed with a knife. The case dates to Jan. 13, 2021, when Hand, a registered sex predator, tried to abduct a female customer of the Macon gas station where he was then working.
Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid
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Macon County Courts Reporter
Macon County courts reporter for the Herald & Review.
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