Police captured a man they say robbed a Fayette County grocery store, then drove through three jurisdictions before crashing in a Fulton County neighborhood.
About 9 a.m. Monday, Leslie Darnell Byrd, 51, of Riverdale, walked up to the service desk at the Kroger on Banks Crossing, told the clerk he had a gun and demanded money from the register, Fayetteville police Capt. Mike Whitlow said.
Police were notified of the robbery through an alarm and again when an employee called dispatchers, Whitlow said.
“He did not brandish a weapon,” Whitlow said. “He told them he had a weapon.”
After getting an undisclosed amount of money, Byrd ran into the parking lot and got into a gray Dodge Avenger, police said.
Whitlow said a Fayetteville detective, driving an unmarked car, spotted the car on Ga. 138 in Clayton County and began following. The car eventually got on I-85 north.
Byrd sped up when he realized he was being followed, police said. The detective did not accelerate.
“The vehicle exited at Flat Shoals Road and eventually crashed in a neighborhood in Fulton County,” Whitlow said.
Police said Byrd got out of the car and ran. He was caught on Buffington Road by Fayetteville detectives and Fulton police, Whitlow said.
He was treated for minor injuries in the crash. No one else was injured, Whitlow said. Byrd is in the Fayette County jail on an armed robbery charge.
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