The two men arrested in connection with a series of pellet gun attacks against vehicles and a business in north Fulton County are "denying everything," a police spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Javon Dacosta Toppin, 22, of Roswell was taken into custody around 10 p.m. Tuesday, said George Gordon, spokesman for the Alpharetta Police Department.
Earlier, Rashaun Yusef Stevens, 20, of Roswell was arrested, and Alpharetta police said they recovered from a gold Acura TL the high-powered pellet pistol allegedly used in the attacks.
Authorities charged both men with aggravated assault with a firearm and two counts of criminal damage to property in the first degree, all felonies. They also were charged with criminal trespass.
More charges are pending, Gordon said.
Asked why the suspects allegedly fired at vehicles and businesses, Gordon said in an email, "No motive yet…random acts."
Alpharetta police spokeswoman Officer Lisa Holland said in an email, "As far as I know, they were denying everything to our detectives."
The arrests came after a joint investigation by the Alpharetta and Roswell police departments resulted in a search warrant being issued for Stevens' Roswell address and vehicle, authorities said.
Records show that Stevens and Toppin, who are cousins, have criminal histories – Stevens, for theft and obstruction in Roswell, and Toppin, for aggravated assault in Gwinnett County, Channel 2 Action News reports.
The investigation began Monday after police received reports of random shootings in the vicinity of Mansell Road and Ga. 9.
Nine vehicles were struck and damaged in Alpharetta; three shots were fired at glass at the Mexi Cali Grill while it was occupied by patrons, also in Alpharetta; and six shooting incidents were reported in Roswell, police said.
"It's definitely kind of sad someone's out here doing that," one of Stevens' alleged victims, Alistair D'Avilar, told Channel 2 Action News.
A projectile had blown out the window of D’Avilar’s white Lincoln Navigator about 1 p.m. Monday as it sat parked outside the man’s Marine recruiting office at 875 Mansell Road, Roswell.
"We heard a bang. We weren't sure what it was," D’Avilar said. "(We) came outside and saw the whole windshield shattered. The whole windshield was all over the floor."
"I was pretty upset because I know how much it's going to cost me to replace it," he said.
About the same time, police said, someone shot out a window at a car dealership next door.
Another victim told Roswell police that she was driving her gray Ford Freestyle westbound on Mansell Road shortly about 12:40 p.m. Monday. She had stopped at Alpharetta Highway when she heard a pop and thought another vehicle had hit her.
It turned out that two of her rear right side windows had been punctured by a small projectile, police said.
About the Author