Atlanta police have captured a man accused of robbing a Beltline jogger on Memorial Day and holding two other people at gunpoint days later.
Quantavius Rashard Walker, 20, was arrested about 6:15 p.m. Wednesday in the 2800 block of Misty Waters Drive in Decatur, police said in a news release.
The latest attempted robberies occurred last Wednesday less than two hours apart, according to incident reports obtained by AJC.com.
RELATED: Man accused of robbing Beltline jogger ID'd
The first robbery attempt occurred shortly after 10 a.m. outside a northwest Atlanta home, police said. A woman getting out of her car on Lena Street found herself staring down the barrel of a gun after pulling her purse out of the back seat, according to the report.
A man with short dreadlocks with blonde tips aimed the handgun at the woman and demanded her bag, she told police. She refused to give up her purse and the robbery suspect fired a single shot into the air, authorities said.
The woman’s husband ran out of the home after hearing the shot and the suspect ran toward the Beltline, police said. Investigators recovered a single shell casing on the street near the woman’s car.
Less than two hours later, just before noon, the same Atlanta officer was called to another attempted robbery outside a home near Washington Park. Police spoke with a homeowner who told them a man with short dreads approached him on Ollie Street and asked to borrow his cellphone to make a call.
Rather than handing over the phone, the man dialed the number over his car’s Bluetooth system. The man trying to make the call reportedly told the victim he wasn’t going to take his phone before grabbing it with one hand and pulling out a gun with the other, according to the police report.
The driver managed to hang onto his phone while flooring his accelerator pedal and leaving the scene. As he drove away, the man reported hearing a single gunshot from behind him.
Neither robbery victim was injured, but they described their assailant as wearing a light-colored hoodie and blue sweatpants. The weapon used in both attempted robberies was described as a dark handgun with a red laser sight on the front, police said.
The incidents occurred just two days after a jogger reported that she was robbed while running on the Beltline near Washington Park.
Police said the man tapped the runner on her shoulder before pulling a black semi-automatic pistol and demanding her bag.
Cameras along the path captured the robbery, and Atlanta police were able to identify Walker after releasing his photo to the public, authorities said.
RELATED: 11-year-old, 12-year-old arrested, accused of armed robbery on Beltline
Walker faces armed robbery and aggravated assault charges in connection with the Beltline robbery, police said. He also faces aggravated assault charges from a shooting that took place April 25 in the 500 block of Cleveland Avenue as well as the two recent armed robbery attempts, police said.
He waived his first appearance hearing Thursday morning and is set to return to court June 20, records show. He remains in the Fulton County Jail without bond.
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