A dropped cellphone helped police make two arrests in connection with armed robberies in unincorporated Duluth and Tucker, Gwinnett police said Friday.
Arielle McMillan, 26, and Christopher Evans, 28 were arrested early Wednesday after a pursuit that originated in the city of Doraville in DeKalb County and concluded in Gwinnett County.
Doraville officers determined McMillan had active felony warrants out for her arrest when they stopped her and Evans in a white Ford Fusion about 2 a.m. McMillan, the driver, sped away from the scene, led police on a chase, lost control of her rental car and struck a utility pole at the intersection of Indian Trail Lilburn Road and Warners Trail in unincorporated Norcross, Gwinnett County police Cpl. Michele Pihera said.
McMillan was taken into custody at the scene, and Evans was captured after a brief foot chase.
Pihera said one of the crimes McMillan is linked to happened Nov. 28, 2015, at the Extended Stay America at 3390 Venture Parkway.
A shooting victim told officers when he refused to lend McMillan money, she opened the man’s hotel room door, allowing an armed man to rush through it. A struggle ensued and the victim was shot in his right thigh, breaking his leg, Pihera said.
McMillan, earlier seen walking with two men to an elevator in the hotel, was spotted walking alone after the shooting, and the two men ran from the hotel through a different exit, Pihera said.
Police have linked Evans to a Dec. 29, 2015, robbery at the Carrington Chase apartment complex in the 1000 block of Oak Chase Drive.
Police said two victims were exiting their work van when two men robbed them at gunpoint about 7:30 p.m. One of the victims was shot in both legs below the knees. One of the people accused of committing the robbery dropped a cellphone at the scene, and witnesses saw a silver SUV picking the suspects up and speeding away from the scene, Pihera said.
A lead investigator determined that the cellphone belonged to Evans, who was charged in both Gwinnett cases with armed robbery and aggravated assault. The content of the phone revealed conversations with McMillan about the robberies, Pihera said. McMillan was charged with armed robbery and aggravated assault in the November robbery.
The phone also had information about an Oct. 31 home invasion robbery at a home in Rossville, the Walker County Sheriff’s Office said. Like the December robbery, the getaway car was described as a silver SUV.
It was not clear if McMillan and Evans had been charged in the Walker County incident. They were being held Friday in the DeKalb jail, the county where the chase originated.
