Gunman robs women in parking lots miles apart, then an auto parts store across town

Two women in parking lots miles away from each other were robbed by the same gunman Saturday, who then drove across town and held up an auto parts store.

The first armed robbery occurred at Walmart on Zebulon Road at 3:30 p.m., a Bibb County Sheriff’s Office news release said. Laquesta Mitchell, 40, of Macon, was at her car when a black male came up to her with a handgun and demanded money. Mitchell gave him an undisclosed amount of cash and the suspect left in a red, four-door vehicle. No one was injured.

At about 7:30 p.m., the same suspect accosted Angelique Shepard, 27, of Newark, Delaware, as she was walking to her car outside Kroger on Hartley Bridge Road, the news release said.

The suspect brandished his handgun and demanded that Shepard give him her purse. She did, and the gunman drove off in the red vehicle. No one was injured.

He struck again at about 8 p.m., entering Advance Auto at 3385 Pio Nono Ave. and showing his gun, demanding money from a clerk and fleeing the store with an undisclosed amount of cash, a second sheriff’s office new release said. No one was injured.

The suspect was described by all the victims as being above six feet tall, weighing over 300 pound and wearing a white T-shirt and blue jean shorts. He had a beard and a small afro haircut.

The incidents are currently under investigation. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 478-751 -7500, or Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 877-68CRIME.

This story was originally published July 15, 2017 at 9:16 PM with the headline "Gunman robs women in parking lots miles apart, then an auto parts store across town."