A 72-year-old Newnan woman was jumped from behind and held at gunpoint in her car Friday morning outside a Coweta County Wal-Mart, allegedly by the same man who was arrested just hours later and charged with the murder of Auburn University freshman Lauren Burk, authorities said.

Courtney Lockhart faces charges in Georgia that include armed robbery, aggravated assault and kidnapping in connection with the Wal-Mart incident, Newnan Police Deputy Chief Rodney Riggs said Sunday evening.

Opelika-Auburn News (ENLARGE)

Lockhart, 23, of Smiths, Ala., was arrested Friday by police in Phenix City, Ala.

Auburn Police Department

Courtney Lockhart

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These are in addition to the capital murder and other charges Lockhart faces in Alabama in connection with the slaying of Burk, an 18-year-old Marietta resident.

Newnan police said Lockhart, 23, who was arrested Friday after a chase by police in Phenix City, Ala., was the registered owner of the silver Chrysler Sebring driven by an armed robber as he fled the Wal-Mart on Bullsboro Drive.

Riggs said Newnan police obtained the tag number of the car and contacted the Sheriff's Department in Lee County, Ala., where the vehicle was registered. An alert went out to police departments across the southeastern United States.

Riggs said that police action in identifying and reporting the tag number of Lockhart's car "was an important part of the [Burk] case."

Riggs noted that an investigation already was under way in Alabama over some robberies there. Last Tuesday, Burk was found shot to death on the side of a road outside Auburn. On Friday, the robbery took place in Newnan.

"Three separate investigations melded together," Riggs said. "It really was a blessing."

He said the murder case against Lockhart in Auburn would take precedence over the Georgia robbery because of its more serious nature.

Marjorie Llewellyn, the Newnan woman in the Wal-Mart incident, said Sunday she believes her attacker may have let her live because she coincidentally told him she has a son in Iraq. She admitted police don't buy her theory.

Llewellyn said she was getting into her Toyota Camry and had her bags in the car and her keys in her hand when her attacker approached about 10 a.m.

"He came up behind me," she recalled. "He was wearing camouflage clothing. He beat me down to the [car's] floor and said, 'How much cash do you have?' I told him $50 or $60. He had the gun on my head while I was down."

"When he told me he was going to kill me, I said, 'Oh, Lord, the only reason I came to Wal-Mart was to get a pre-paid phone card to send to my son in Iraq,' " Llewellyn said. "Then, he jumped out of the car running, calling me the 'B' word."

Lockhart, of Smiths Station, Ala., is a military veteran with service in Iraq, his mother Catherine Williams told interviewers over the weekend, adding that he wasn't the same after his 16-month tour.

Williams apologized to Burk's family in an interview with Columbus television station WTVM.

"I am sorry that Courtney did that. ... First let me say I'm sorry to the Burk family for Courtney taking, taking their child. ... My heart goes out to her family," Williams said.

But she said her son did not confess anything to her.

Lockhart was being held with bail set at $250,000, police said. An initial hearing was set for this morning in Lee County, Ala., circuit court.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.