Atlanta police on Monday announced arrests in the April robbery of Augustine’s tavern in Grant Park.
The robbery investigation produced enough evidence for detectives to swear out arrest warrants for Shawn Smith, 25, and Elijah Jackson, 19, on Sunday, Officer Ralph Woolfolk said.
The two men, who are accused of robbing the restaurant and patrons at gunpoint, are in the DeKalb County jail on unrelated charges, Woolfolk said.
The April 1 robbery made headlines in part because it was at the same location on Memorial Drive of the killing of a popular bartender in 2009. The restaurant at the time was known as the Standard, which closed after all the publicity regarding the death of John Henderson.
The subsequent arrests and prosecutions undermined the street gang 30 Deep, whose members were prosecuted for the murder and robbery. The actual suspected shooter, however, was never prosecuted for the crime.
The gang was once dubbed the “Blue-Jeans Bandits” by store owners who were frustrated by their late-night smash-and-grab robberies of high-end designer jeans.
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