Police said they chased a teenager through the suburbs of Athens on Sunday afternoon after he shot several rounds inside a gas station and ended his alleged spree at a coin laundry across the street.
Edgar Ortiz, 17, was arrested and charged with several counts of armed robbery and aggravated assault, according to Athens-Clarke County police. The teen’s arrest stems from shootings at a Shell gas station and at Betty’s Laundry Service on Tallassee Road, but he has been linked to three other incidents in the area, police spokesman Lt. Shaun Barnett said in a news release.
Officers received a call about an armed robbery and shooting at the gas station while at the scene of another shooting less than a mile away. At the Shell, Ortiz pointed a gun at customers and demanded money, Barnett said. Ortiz then shot several rounds inside the station, Barnett said. No injuries were reported during the incident.
As officers were arriving at the gas station, they heard gunshots coming from the coin laundry across the street, according to Barnett. An 18-year-old woman was injured when a piece of broken glass struck her in the face, according to the release.
Officers located Ortiz’s vehicle and a brief pursuit ensued, Barnett said. He crashed in the area of Ramble Hills Drive and fled on foot, the release said. Officers chased him and he was eventually taken into custody.
Although Ortiz was only charged in those two incidents, he is suspected in three others that happened prior to him arriving at Tallassee Road.
Earlier that day, around 4:30 p.m., officers responded to Parkview Homes regarding gunfire. When they arrived, a victim stated that she went outside to investigate after she heard gunshots, Barnett said. That was when a suspect pointed a gun at her, he said. A vehicle that had been struck by gunfire was found by officers. No one was injured in the incident.
Shortly after, officers received a call about an attempted armed robbery in the area of Newton and Waddell streets. Barnett said a suspect pulled out a gun and demanded money from a 21-year-old man. The victim ran away and the suspect fired his gun at least one time, Barnett said. The victim was not injured.
At 5:40 p.m., officers responded to the area of Lake Drive and Lake Place regarding a shooting. A 16-year-old man had been shot and was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, Barnett said. It was while officers were responding to that shooting that the call about the Shell gas station shooting came in.
In mid-October, some University of Georgia students became victims of a string of armed robberies and attempted armed robberies during the same weekend, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. A total of six holdups occurred within miles of each other near downtown Athens. Due to the similarity of those crimes, Barnett said police believed they were all committed by the same suspects, but they were exploring all possibilities.
Anyone with information related to the latest incidents is asked to contact Sgt. Gregory Dickson at 762-400-7070 or via email at gregory.dickson@accgov.com.
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