Convicted armed robber arrested, accused of shooting at joggers on Atlanta trail

The man was arrested nearly eight months after being released on probation.

The man was arrested nearly eight months after being released on probation.

Less than eight months after being released from jail on probation for an armed robbery conviction, a man is behind bars again after police said he shot at two joggers with a handgun in Atlanta last week.

Mytavious Sigmon, 25, of Riverdale, was arrested Wednesday on two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the incident, which happened the previous evening on the Freedom Park Trail.

An officer was sent to the 800 block of East Avenue after Atlanta police received several 911 calls reporting gunshots, according to an incident report obtained Tuesday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The victims told a 911 dispatcher they had been jogging on the footpath along Freedom Parkway when they saw a man walking in the same direction about 100 feet in front of them. He appeared to be holding a pistol with an extended magazine, the victims told police.

One victim said he saw the man fire “several rounds” into a wooded area near the footpath, the police report said. Both victims took cover near some concrete pylons and waited for the gunfire to end.

After several minutes without hearing gunshots, the victims left their hiding place, thinking they were safe, police said. They continued to run along the path in the opposite direction.

Then, they heard “several more” gunshots, police said. When one of the victims turned around, he saw the man was now facing them with the gun. After first ducking behind a row of trees, the victims ran across the path to a nearby home, where they asked the homeowner for help.

“They hid in the kitchen for a few moments until they looked out the windows that overlook the footpath,” the incident report said. “They then reported seeing the same male walking in front of the house, westbound along the footpath.”

When the officer arrived at the location, he saw a man matching the description of the gunman walking along the footpath. The man, later identified as Sigmon, sat down in a chair and the police officer approached him, the incident report said.

Sigmon told police he was walking after eating at a nearby pizza restaurant and was unaware of any shooting. He admitted to having a gun but said he “threw it away next to the public footpath” when he saw the police cruisers, the report said.

“He stated that he had the firearm for self-defense but denies discharging the firearm this evening,” the police report said.

Sigmon also told police he knew he shouldn’t be in possession of a firearm, “considering that he is currently serving out a ‘first offender’ status on a previous armed robbery case in Fulton County.”

According to Fulton County Superior Court records, Sigmon was sentenced to 12 years of probation after being convicted on multiple counts of armed robbery. An indictment indicates Sigmon and two other men robbed multiple women at gunpoint during the summer of 2017. Sigmon’s sentence was handed down in May 2021, and he was released from jail shortly after.

Police found the 9 mm handgun used in the Freedom Park Trail incident in a grassy area. The magazine contained only nine rounds of ammunition. A standard pistol magazine holds between 18 and 21 rounds.

After finding the gun, police detained Sigmon at the scene. Both joggers identified him as the person who had shot at them, police said.

Sigmon was taken to the Fulton County Jail, where he remains.