A suspect is accused of stealing cash from a Chick-fil-A after pepper-spraying its employees and then leading police on a chase that ended in a crash that killed another person, officials said.
The tragic saga unfolded Monday night in DeKalb County and spilled into Atlanta. DeKalb police were called to the fast-food restaurant on Decatur Village Way at around 8:40 p.m. and discovered it had been robbed by someone in a vehicle that was connected to three other robberies since Sunday, authorities said.
When officers arrived at the restaurant Monday, they spoke with the employees who had been attacked. One of them told officers the suspect, later identified as Santario Barnwell, 23, went through the drive-thru window and took a cash drawer before speeding off, according to officials.
Less than an hour went by before Atlanta police spotted the suspect’s vehicle and tried to stop it, authorities said, adding that Barnwell refused to stop, and a pursuit ensued.
By 9:33 p.m., Georgia State Patrol troopers were called to a crash on Peachtree Road at Piedmont Road in Buckhead, roughly 10 miles from the Chick-fil-A.
According to the GSP, Barnwell ran a red light at the intersection and crashed into another vehicle, killing its driver. The medical examiner identified the victim as 26-year-old Richard Wells Jr.
Barnwell was taken to a hospital, but officials have not said what charges are pending.
Two of the earlier robberies connected to Barnwell’s vehicle were reported in DeKalb, and the third was in Sandy Springs. Details about those incidents were not provided.
The Atlanta Police Department previously suspended all vehicle pursuits in 2020. Less than a year later, it rescinded parts of its “no-chase” policy, which still remains in effect, according to the department’s policy manual.
The manual states that an officer can engage in a police pursuit when “they have direct knowledge” that the fleeing suspect has committed or attempted to commit a “forcible felony” and that the suspect’s escape poses imminent danger.
No other information about Monday’s incident has been released by police.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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