Family Dollar held up; Armed robbery suspect caught
By JOHN A. WINTERS
john@newnan.com
An armed robbery suspect was arrested shortly after robbing a small discount store Monday night on Jefferson Street just north of downtown Newnan.
Seventeen-year-old Raphel Isiah Collins was arrested less than an hour after the robbery, which occurred at the Family Dollar, 121 Jefferson St.
He was in the Coweta County Jail Tuesday on a charge of armed robbery with a firearm, according to jail records.
Coweta 911 received a call at 9:41 p.m. about an armed robbery, according to Detective Jim Beneke with the Newnan Police Department.
“An unknown subject entered and pointed a gun at the cashier or manager and got an undisclosed amount of money,” the detective said.
Law enforcement units began a search of the area based on the description and Collins was located on Farmer Street by a deputy with the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, Beneke said. Collins was apprehended between 30 to 45 minutes after the 911 call.
Beneke said an undisclosed amount of cash was found in a backpack Collins was carrying. Also found was a target pellet gun, which was believed to be used in the robbery.
