Athens teen suspected of weekend robbery, shooting spree that injured three people, one critically

Edgar Francisco Ortiz

By Joe Johnson

An Athens teen is in custody after allegedly going on a weekend shooting and robbery spree in which three people were injured, one critically.

According to Athens-Clarke County police reports, the first incident occurred at about 4:37 p.m. on Florida Avenue in the Parkview Homes apartment complex, where residents called 911 to report that someone was firing a gun.

When officers arrived, they located a Dodge Avenger with a smashed-out window that had a bullet hole in it, the report noted.

When a woman came out of her apartment to see what happened, the suspect reportedly pointed a gun at her and she ran back inside before the male could do anything else.

Another witness told of seeing a light-skinned Black or Hispanic male wearing a beige hoodie and black pants lean against an adjacent car and kick out the Avenger’s window, and as the male walked away toward Newton Street he fired a pistol into the air several times, according to the report.

A short time later, police received a call about an attempted armed robbery in the area of Newton and Waddell streets. The suspect reportedly brandished a gun and demanded money from a 21-year-old male victim. The victim ran away at which point the suspect fired at least one round from the gun, according to police, who said the victim was not injured.

About an hour later, at approximately 5:40 p.m., officers responded to the area of Lake Drive and Lake Place regarding a shooting, police said. Upon arrival officers located a 16-year-old male that had been shot. The victim was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to police.

Shell Food Mart on Tallassee Road is blocked off with crime scene tape while police investigate an armed robbery and shooting that occurred inside

While officers were still at the shooting scene, police received a call about an armed robbery and shooting at Food Mart at a Shell gas station at 175 Tallassee Road.

According to police, an armed male suspect pointed a gun at customers, demanded money from them and fired several shots inside the store. Police said no one was injured, and they did not indicate what, if anything was stolen.

As officers were arriving at the Shell station, police said, they heard gunshots coming from the other side of Mitchell Bridge at Coin Laundry, 123 Tallassee Road, there, an 18-year-old female had an injury to her face that was believed to have been caused by broken glass.

Police said that officers located the suspect’s vehicle and briefly pursued it until it crashed in the area of Ramble Hills Drive and they arrested the driver as he tried running away.

The suspect was identified by police as 17-year-old Edgar Francisco Ortiz of Ramble Hills Drive.

At 9:51 p.m., police were notified about an armed robbery that occurred at about 5:30 p.m. on Chalfont Lane, just over a half-mile from the Shell Station and laundromat, and a few-minutes' walk from Lake Place.

According to a police report, a 15-year-old boy told officers through a Spanish language translator that he was walking on Chalfont in front of Serene Apartments when a silver Toyota Scion stopped in the roadway and the driver, described as a light-skinned mixed-race male wearing a gray hoodie exited the vehicle with a gun.

The suspect stuck a gun into the boy’s side and said, “Give me your phone and everything you got,” according to the report, at which time the victim surrendered $50 and told the gunman that he had no phone.

The victim “stated the suspect then shook his hand and thanked him” before driving away, the report noted.

Police said that Ortiz was charged with several counts of armed robbery and aggravated assault for the incidents at the Tallassee Road businesses, and that additional charges were pending completion of investigations of the other incidents that occurred on Sunday.

Another shooting incident happened early Saturday that police said possibly could be related to Sunday’s incidents.

According to a police report officers responded at about 5:48 a.m. on a report that a 55-year-old woman who lives in the 100 block of Lake Pace had been shot in the arm when the home was raked by gunfire.

The victim was shot by one of three bullets that passed through her bedroom window, according to the report, which noted that officers recovered 20 spent cartridge cases outside the victim’s home.

Police said the woman was transported to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

When asked about the incidents on consecutive days, ACCPD spokesman Lt. Shaun Barnett said, “There is nothing that obviously indicates that they are related. However, we cannot rule it out at this time.”

Police asked for anyone with information about any of the weekend incidents to contact Sgt. Greg Dickson at 762-400- 7070 or Gregory.dickson@accgov.com.