Robbery suspect caught after driver crashes fleeing U.S. marshals, sheriff’s deputies

Two men are in custody after a pickup crashed down an embankment during a police chase near the Log Cabin Drive bridge.

At about 9:30 a.m. Thursday, members of the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force were working on a Crimestoppers tip to arrest an armed robbery suspect who was seen at the China Inn on Eisenhower Parkway.

The wanted suspect, Benjamin Lanier Statham Jr. of Macon was riding in a Ford Ranger pickup that backed over the curb at the restaurant and into the McDonald’s parking lot.

Johnny Carl Sandefur Jr., 47, of Lizella was behind the wheel and led officers on a chase that included Bibb County sheriff’s deputies, according to a Bibb County sheriff’s news release.

As officers pursued the pickup down Log Cabin Drive, Sandefur tried to pass a car but met an oncoming vehicle in the other lane and swerved back into his lane and lost control, Georgia State Patrol Cpl. Michael Burns said.

The pickup went off the road, down an embankment, hit some trees and partially flipped over, momentarily trapping one of the men.

“The driver and the passenger both had visible injuries, but it doesn’t appear to be anything major,” said Burns, who is investigating the crash.

Officers recovered a bag thrown from the pickup and found two handguns inside.

Statham is accused of the July 7 holdup at the Just One More Smoke Shop at 3075 Riverside Drive, said an officer at the scene who is familiar with the case.

At 3 a.m. that morning, a gunman demanded money from the tobacco shop clerk and got away.

Thursday, as first responders treated the men and a wrecker crew worked to retrieve the pickup, Log Cabin Drive was blocked for about 90 minutes between Hollingsworth and Meadowbrook roads.

Both men were in stable condition when they were taken by ambulance to the hospital.

They will be taken to the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center on multiple charges once they are released from the hospital, the release stated.

This story was originally published August 2, 2018 at 10:18 AM.