Forsyth County deputies were called to two unrelated armed robbery incidents Sunday, which authorities say is “highly unusual" considering the county had only two armed robberies in all of 2019.
The first incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. when three men robbed a man at gunpoint at a car wash behind a Marathon gas station on Buford Dam Road, according to a Facebook post by the sheriff’s office. While one of the suspects hit the victim on the head with a gun, the other two went through his pockets and car, the post said. They fled the scene with the man’s cellphone and wallet, authorities said.
Police identified 24-year-old Torrie Dontell Ratcliff of Atlanta as one of the suspects. Investigators said they were able to find a gun, cash and the clothes he wore during the robbery. Ratcliff, who is on probation, is charged with aggravated assault and armed robbery, according to the post. He is being held without bond at the Forsyth County jail, online jail records show.
The second incident took place around 11:30 p.m. when deputies responded to a call about a person who was shot. The victim was taken to Northside Forsyth Hospital, but when detectives later met with him, they found out he wasn’t shot but was instead being treated for a broken wrist and other minor injuries, the post stated.
Deputies said the victim and his friend went to a party on James Burgess Road to meet a girl his friend met on Snapchat. When they arrived, the friend left the car to speak with a man who was standing in the driveway, authorities said. The victim told deputies his friend “quickly became alarmed and ran away,” and that’s when the man approached his car and assaulted him. The victim said he saw two people come out of the bushes and then he heard gunshots as he fled the scene.
A deputy detained a suspect in the area right after the 911 call was placed, and a sheriff’s office K-9 was able to track down three more suspects, according to the Facebook post.
“During the execution of a search warrant of the location, deputies found wet, muddy clothing hidden in a hamper that matched the description of the clothing provided by the victim, a rifle, a toy gun, and some of the victim’s belongings,” the post read.
Authorities said all four suspects, ages 13, 15, 16 and 16, were sent to the Regional Youth Detention Center and charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault and entering auto.
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