The man and woman suspected of running over and killing a woman last week during a violent purse-snatching in the parking lot of a Covington Wal-Mart were booked into the Newton County jail Tuesday night after waiving extradition in Tennessee, authorities said.
Brandon Shawn Smith, 27, and Stephanie Marie Rodriguez, 37, were arrested Saturday in Manchester, Tenn., still driving the car they were allegedly in Nov. 16 when Covington police say they ran over and killed 65-year-old Marsha Johnson moments after she resisted an attempt to snatch her purse.
A credit card belonging to Johnson was found days later at a Chattanooga chicken processing plant, and a Manchester resident who saw news reports about the suspects tipped off police in the Tennessee town just off I-24 between Chattanooga and Nashville. Smith and Rodriguez were arrested without incident during a traffic stop.
Police said they have tied them to “at least 10” purse snatchings and robberies across the Southeast, crimes dating back several weeks.
Covington police Capt. Ken Malcom told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution late Tuesday morning that Smith and Rodriguez had been scheduled for an extradition hearing Tuesday morning in Coffee County, Tenn. They waived extradition instead and were transported back to Georgia.
Jail records showed Smith and Rodriguez were booked into the Newton County jail late Tuesday night. Both were charged with murder, robbery and three counts of aggravated assault, and are being held without bond.
The Honda Accord that the pair were traveling in when they were arrested during a Saturday afternoon traffic stop was taken to the GBI Crime Lab on Sunday night, Malcom said. The vehicle, which had been stolen from Virginia, was captured on surveillance video at the Covington Wal-Mart, police said.
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