A Coweta County man was arrested one day after his release from state prison.
Travis Bernard Hinton, 40, of Newnan, was taken into custody Aug. 25 on charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault and attempted murder in connection with the 2013 shooting of a convenience store clerk, Newnan police Deputy Chief Mark Cooper said.
The previous day, Hinton walked out of Hays State Prison, where he had been serving time after a 2017 conviction for unrelated drug offenses, according to Georgia Department of Corrections records.
According to police, the timing of the arrest was a coincidence.
“NPD attempted to serve through the correctional facility and was notified that he was released the day prior,” department spokeswoman Ashley Copeland told AJC.com.
Police said new evidence surfaced in the June 15, 2013, shooting at the Little Rush convenience store on East Broad Street that connected Hinton to the incident. Security footage from the business showed an armed man enter the store around 8:45 p.m., grab the clerk and take him to the cash register. The man shot the clerk, went through his pockets and ran from the store.
The clerk was left slumped over the cash register for about 10 minutes until a customer entered, found him and called 911. The clerk was taken to the hospital and survived his injuries. The case remained open in the hopes that new leads would develop, Cooper said.
According to police, the new evidence in the case was discovered thanks to a confidential source. The investigation was reopened and Newnan police obtained warrants for Hinton’s arrest.
Hinton was booked into the Coweta County Jail after his latest arrest and remains there without bond, according to Coweta County Sheriff’s Office records obtained by AJC.com.
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