A Columbus man was arrested Friday in connection with multiple armed robberies committed in Lowndes County last year.
Brandon Baker Jr., 21, of Columbus, was taken into custody at his home on Wren Street in the New Hope area. He has been charged with two counts of armed robbery and one count of aggravated assault, according to a press release issued by Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.
The press release said an anonymous tip submitted through Crime Stoppers led to Baker’s arrest.
Baker has been linked to the attempted armed robbery of a Dollar General, at 419 Lehmberg St. in Artesia on March 31, 2024, and in the armed robbery of the State Line Fuel Center, at 7803 Highway 182 E., early the following morning.
According to the press release, the first attempted robbery occurred at about 10:26 p.m., when a suspect wearing a dark hoodie and a white mask approached a man sitting in his vehicle in the Dollar General parking lot. The suspect, armed with a shotgun, ordered the man out of his vehicle and instructed him to convince store employees to open the locked doors.
As the man knocked on the doors, the suspect attempted to flee in the victim’s vehicle. When the car stalled, the suspect ran on foot to a second vehicle parked nearby on Highway 45 S. Alt., where another suspect was waiting. The two fled north.
At approximately 2:13 a.m. on April 1, the same masked suspect entered the State Line Fuel Center and attempted to rob the store. One employee who was present resisted, and the suspect struck the employee in the head multiple times with the shotgun before fleeing on foot without taking any money.
The employee was treated at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle for non-life-threatening injuries.
According to the press release, investigators discovered additional evidence during a search of Baker’s residence that may link him to the robbery of the Family Dollar on Tabernacle Road which occurred earlier this month.
Baker is being held in Lowndes County Adult Detention Center and may face additional charges. The investigation is ongoing, and more arrests are likely to be made.
Anyone with further information is asked to contact LCSO at (662) 328-6788 or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at (800) 530-7151.
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