Police on Wednesday released surveillance footage of one of three suspects accused of robbing a woman and her husband as they walked home in southeast Atlanta.
The video shows a man using the woman’s stolen credit card at a gas station not long after the Sept. 6 robbery on Woodward Avenue, according to Atlanta police. He smiles and appears to carry on a conversation with the store clerk in the minute-long video.
“Investigators are hopeful someone will recognize the suspect in the video and call Crime Stoppers to assist us in identifying him,” Investigator James White said in a news release.
According to a police report, the victims were approached by a silver vehicle as they walked on a sidewalk along Woodward Avenue around midnight Sept. 6. An armed man wearing dark clothing and a camouflage bandanna got out of the rear passenger side and demanded the woman’s purse.
She told police she did not give over the bag, which contained her cellphone, a laptop and her wallet, until the man fired a warning shot into the ground. Her husband said the gun was a black semi-automatic pistol, according to the report.
The masked gunman then got back into the vehicle and drove off. The victims thought they saw another man behind the wheel and a woman in the front passenger seat.
A security guard working nearby heard the gunfire and went to investigate, she told police at the scene. She saw the vehicle speed away westbound on Woodward Avenue before making a left onto Cherokee Avenue.
No one was injured by the gunfire, according to police.
The man on the video, recorded at a gas station on Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard, does not match the victims’ description of the shooter. He appears to be wearing a red collared shirt with a tan baseball cap, ripped blue jeans and white shoes.
Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
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