An Athens Popeye’s employee was arrested Thursday accused of being an accomplice to a robbery of the restaurant.
Athens police said the man, Christopher Andrew Brown, 27, waited until the restaurant had closed, then let in two armed robbers via the back door of the Popeye’s on the 1100 block of Prince Avenue.
The two robbers waited in the bathroom of the restaurant until all other employees left, then headed to the manager’s office, police said.
The manager told investigators that he was counting receipts in his office around 11 p.m. when the two men came in and demanded money at gunpoint. One pistol-whipped the manager and another also smashed his cell phone on the floor. The two then forced him into a freezer.
As they were making for the exit, a bag of coins the men were carrying broke, and they spent several minutes picking up the change.
When they got outside, they ran into a man and a woman who had come to the store to pick up the manager. They ordered the driver to shut off the engine and give them the keys.
The woman in the car told police that one of the me3n urged the other to “shoot them.” The robber then cocked his gun, but never fired, police said.
The men then hopped a fence into a neighboring business’ parking lot, got in a parked SUV and drove off, police said.
After watching security camera footage, police believe that Brown was an accomplice.
Police said that the restaurant’s doors were locked at around 9:45 p.m., and around 10:15 they saw Brown go to the back door and let the men in.
The men then went straight to the bathroom and waited.
Police questioned Brown, who lives on Pine Lane Drive, and charged him with armed robbery, aggravated assault and conspiracy.
Investigators also identified one of the men as 19-year-old Gerald Kendrick Baughns, who was arrested at his home on Acadia Drive in north Athens.
Police were still searching for the third suspect as of Friday morning.
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