Sometimes, he acted as a lookout for his partner, according to federal investigators. Other times, he allegedly tied up store employees at gunpoint so expensive jewelry could be grabbed from display cases.
According to his alleged accomplice, however, Lewis Jones III was involved in all six armed robberies at jewelry stores across the Southeast, including two in Georgia, the FBI has said. Friday afternoon, Jones was scheduled to appear in federal court in Atlanta to find out whether he'll be granted bond, but the hearing was postponed until Wednesday to give his attorney additional time.
Jones, 35, and Abigail Lee Kemp, 24, were partners in the series of armed robberies that began in April at Jared Vault in Woodstock and continued until Jan. 4, when a Mebane, N.C., store was targeted, according to federal investigators. In each robbery, store employees were forced at gunpoint into a back room, where their hands were tied behind their backs.
On Jan. 8, Kemp and Jones were again together when agents arrived at a Smyrna apartment and arrested them. Each was charged with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by threats or violence.
On Thursday, federal magistrate Judge Linda Walker denied bond for Kemp. Jones is due at 2 p.m. Wednesday in Walker's courtroom.
At the time of his arrest, Jones was also charged with armed robbery for an alleged August bank robbery and was booked into the DeKalb County jail. He was later moved to a federal facility.
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