Accused killer in Warner Robins lottery shop robbery also linked to bank-heist shooting
A 30-year-old Warner Robins man was jailed Monday evening in connection with a string of alleged violent crimes that include a November bank robbery in which a teller was shot and wounded, and the shooting death last month of a lottery store clerk.
City police and Houston County sheriff’s officials said in a statement Tuesday that the suspect, Victor Casey Dennard, was also facing charges in connection with a home invasion off Elberta Road that happened in the minutes before the Nov. 22 holdup at Robins Financial Credit Union on North Houston Road.
Dennard was released from state prison last April. He has served time over the past decade for crimes in Houston County that include the distribution of marijuana, cocaine possession and burglary.
Officials did not divulge what led them to suspect Dennard, saying only that their probe was “complex” and that detectives “are actively investigating leads” involving Dennard and other possible suspects.
On Tuesday, a law enforcement official familiar with Dennard’s arrest said, “We got a dangerous, dangerous guy off the streets last night.”
The heinous nature of the robbery and shooting death at the lottery shop, the J&J Dollar Store on Knodishall Drive near Watson Boulevard, was particularly disturbing.
Three masked bandits burst into the small, neighborhood shop where patrons play video poker and buy lottery tickets in the wee hours of Jan. 18. Two customers inside were robbed as was the store’s clerk, Renee Dollar, 43, who was shot and killed. The episode was recorded by security cameras.
This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 4:35 PM.