Armed Robber Arrested - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Armed Robber Arrested

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By Stephen Abel - bio | email

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DECATUR COUNTY, GA (WALB) -

Investigators in Decatur County are searching for an armed robber Friday as his suspected accomplice sits in jail.

37-year old Karonn Skinner was picked up by Federal Marshals just after midnight in Tallahassee.

He's accused of robbing Bishop's Travel Center at gunpoint Monday afternoon, but he wasn't alone.

Investigators say the two men walked around the Bishop's Travel Center on U.S. 27 for a few minutes before Karonn Skinner approached the clerk with a gun.

Investigators say Skinner and his accomplice got a small amount of cash before taking off on a red Honda motorcycle.

"A witness that was at the store actually followed them into Florida near Havana where they had stopped to put gas into the motorcycle. Once they saw a witness was following them, they evaded at a high speed to get away," said Captain Chip Nix.

Investigators suspect this pair not only robbed this store, but also stores in Mitchell, Gadsden, and Leon Counties.

Investigators think Skinner is also the man in the video we showed you Thursday from an armed robbery at Family Dollar in Camilla.

"He's got a pretty lengthy criminal history. He's done time for a bank robbery actually so this is kind of one of the hard core criminals. He's on probation down in Gadsden County and is considered to be a career offender down in Florida," said Nix.

Investigators say they will beefing up patrols with their Operation Safe Holiday over the next month, so while folks need to be vigilant like this witness was, they need to think twice about trying to take matters into their own hands.

"We have had crimes such as murders solved by a citizen whipping out a cell phone and videoing a portion of the crime or the suspect. And that's always good to have, but then again we don't want a witness putting themselves in harms way," said Nix.

Skinner had his first appearance in Tallahassee Friday afternoon and is now in the Decatur County Jail.

Decatur County investigators say the Leon and Gadsden County Sheriff's Offices and Decatur County Citizens Against Crime helped lead them to Skinner.

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