Surveillance video shot around 12:30 Wednesday morning at the Flash Foods gas station in Pelham shows a man demanded money from the clerk at gunpoint.
He then tells the clerk to get on the floor as he runs away.
Investigators say the man in the video is 42-year-old James Bell, who cops actually ran into minutes before the robbery.
"About 30 minutes before this robbery occurred, our officers made contact with Mr. Bell on Church Street in Pelham. They got out and investigated him as a suspicious person and shortly thereafter the robbery was committed," said Rod Williams with the Pelham Police Department.
Chief Investigator Rod Williams tells us Bell is no stranger to the law because he was just released from prison late last year.
"Mr. Bell was released from state prison back in October of 2011. He was in there serving a sentence for a rape charge he was convicted of here in Mitchell County, but the Georgia Board of Appeals overturned that conviction," said Williams.
Now Bell faces a multitude of charges that will land him back behind bars.
"He is being charged with Armed Robbery, Aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony," said Williams.
Police say Bell never showed a gun, but they are being cautious and saying that he could be armed and dangerous.
If you know where investigators can find James Bell, call Pelham Police at 294-6000.
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