Their arrests in Alabama likely is just the appetizer for two men accused of robbing more than a dozen Waffle House restaurants in the metro Atlanta area.
Edwin Charles Mitchell, 21, and DeAngelo Marquize Heard, 19, remained Monday afternoon in the Shelby County jail. They each face robbery and theft charges for allegedly sticking upthe 24-hour eatery in Calera, Ala., about 20 miles south of Birmingham.
The Saturday morning crime was nearly identical to those in metro Atlanta, except for the ending. This time, the duo was caught.
Investigators believe the men may be responsible for robbing 16 Waffle Houses in the metro area, as well as one LaGrange, one in Auburn, Ala., and the latest Saturday in Calera.
Surveillance footage from the Atlanta-area heists may be key to linking a crime spree to the pair, police said Monday. Investigators in Gwinnett and Cobb counties and the city of LaGrange also plan to charge the pair.
“I feel confident of the video I’ve seen, the majority can be confirmed as these guys," Norcross police Sgt. Bill Grogan told the AJC Monday.
When officers arrived at the Alabama restaurant around 4 a.m. Saturday, the pair's getaway car was still parked at a neighboring business near I-65, Chief Sean Lemley with the Calera Police Department told the AJC.
"When the robbery call went out, we had officers close in the vicinity," Lemley said. "They were literally there within seconds."
Mitchell waited inside the car as Heard went inside the restaurant, ordered food to go and then demanded cash, Lemley said. Heard then ran outside, where Mitchell was already being arrested.
“The suspect on foot witnessed that and took off to a field adjacent to it," Lemley said.
Heard was pursued by officers in car and on foot and was taken into custody, Lemley said.
The latest crime followed nearly the same pattern as Waffle House robberies across the metro area in recent weeks. In some crimes, one suspect would act alone. In others, two suspects were involved.
But all of the robberies began with a food order, police have said.
Late last week, a Waffle House in Cobb County was hit in a similar fashion, only the suspect sat down and ate his food before demanding cash, Cobb County police said. Mitchell and Heard are also suspects in that crime, Cobb Sgt. Dana Pierce told the AJC.
Bond for Mitchell and Heard, both of Ellenwood, was set at $61,000 each, according to jail records. If and when they post bond, they will be extradited to a metro Atlanta police department to face additional charges, Lemley said.
"They'll have to be dealt with there and here," Grogan said.
Mitchell and Heard both attended Forest Park High School, according to their Facebook profiles.
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