‘Grandma Bandit' suspect killed

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By Rhonda Cook and Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An Atlanta woman suspected of being the "Grandma Bandit" died Friday morning after being shot multiple times at the end of a police chase on North Druid Hill Road, DeKalb police said.

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Mike Morris, mmorris@ajc.com Police investigators work the scene of the crash and shooting near North Druid Hills and I-85.

Atlanta Police Department Surveillance video showed this suspect, described as a 50- to 60-year-old woman, who is wanted in the robbery of multiple drug stores.

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The woman, identified in an arrest warrant as Roxanne Taylor, 58, of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Atlanta, was spotted in the drive-through at a Wendy's on Piedmont Road by someone who noticed that she matched the description of the bandit who has robbed several metro area drugstores in the past two weeks.

The person notified Atlanta police, who attempted to stop the woman after she left the drive-through, DeKalb police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said. The woman fled, leading police on a chase up Interstate 85 northbound in a gold Jeep Liberty. She was involved in a minor traffic accident after exiting at North Druid Hills Road, Parish said.

At that point, the police officers who had been pursuing her heard a single gunshot, and they returned fire, hitting Taylor multiple times, Parish said. Neither of the officers was injured.

Witnesses at the shooting scene could see two bullet holes in the windshield and in a small window toward the rear on the driver's side of the Jeep. Also, the driver's side window was blown out and part of the driver's side rear seat window was shattered.

The so-called "Grandma Bandit" was wanted in a series of robberies at metro drugstores; she had been described as driving a tan or gold Jeep Liberty.

Since May 14, police have been searching for the woman, who was captured on surveillance video wearing a black University of Georgia ball cap; she was suspected of robbing four pharmacies in two weeks, most recently Tuesday at the Rite Aid pharmacy on Howell Mill Road.

She was also accused in similar crimes May 12, May 14 and May 20, when a woman matching her description pointed a gun at employees at a pharmacy on North Druid Hills Road and demanded cash, DeKalb County police said last week.

The arrest warrant, issued Thursday by Atlanta police, charged Taylor with three robberies:

-- On May 12, she held up the Rite Aid pharmacy at 1512 Piedmont Ave., and left with $89 in cash.

-- On May 14, she held up the Rite Aid pharmacy at 891 Ponce de Leon Ave. and made off with $159.

-- On May 24, she robbed the Rite Aid at 2020 Howell Mill Road and made off with $166.

In all three incidents, the suspect pointed a black handgun at a cashier and demanded all the money from the register.

Taylor was identified by store employees from a photo lineup, the warrant said.

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