Last suspect arrested in AT&T armed robbery in PTC

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Peachtree City police investigators have made the final arrest in connection with the Dec. 20 armed robbery of the AT&T store on Ga. Highway 54 in Peachtree City.

Bryan Roberts, of Rex, the last remaining suspect in the case, was arrested Tuesday by the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force and charged with armed robbery-party to a crime, according to police department spokesman Mark Brown.

Peachtree City officers on Dec. 2 at approximately 6 p.m. responded to the AT&T store on Hwy. 54 to a reported robbery, Brown said at the time.

Responding officers reported that two black males entered the store, with one brandishing a handgun. The suspects took over $23,000 worth of cell phones, Brown said.

Brown said that, unknown to the suspects and the employees, one of the cell phones was a “dummy” phone that is designed to activate a GPS tracking device when removed from the store.

The GPS tracking company notified Fayette County 911 who reported the exact location of the suspects and the cell phones to the responding officers. Officers tracked the suspects from Peachtree City, through Fayetteville, and finally to the area of Corinth Road and Capital Court, said Brown.

The vehicle used by the suspects was abandoned near Corinth Road and officers subsequently searched the area.

One of the suspects, Nakita Burkes, was located in the Corinth Road area and was placed under arrest, according to earlier reports.

Brown said the gun believed to be used in the armed robbery was found abandoned on the roadside several miles from the stop location by a Fayetteville officer.

Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Fayetteville Police and Clayton County Police assisted in the search for the additional suspects using K-9’s and a helicopter from Clayton County to no avail, Brown explained.

Brown said public release of the identification of the outstanding suspects was withheld since it was suspected that the release of the information could hinder attempts to locate the fleeing suspects.

Previously arrested in the case were:

-Nakita Burkes, 30, of Atlanta, on charges of armed robbery-party to a crime;

-Tanequa Taylor, of Jonesboro, on charges of felony false statements for attempting to mislead investigators; and

-Ali Faheem, 30, of Jonesboro, on two counts of kidnapping and one count of armed robbery.