Hall County sheriff’s deputies arrested a suspect this morning, less than five hours after an armed robbery at a South Hall convenience store. And he’s been linked to an incident last week at another store.
HALL COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE(HCSO) NEWS RELEASE:
“Deputies responded at approximately 4:40 to the Chevron Food Mart, 2178 Candler Road. They spoke
with the clerk and a witness who saw the suspect leave the parking lot. According to the initial investigation, a man entered the store, brandished a knife and went behind the counter. He grabbed two boxes of kratom products containing about 60 pills and left.
The suspect got into a vehicle and drove away. The clerk was not injured. The estimated value of the stolen items is $420.
Deputies worked throughout the morning and identified the suspect as James Kyle Whitley, 37, of Talmo.
They reviewed a social media account associated with Whitley and developed information about his
employer. They then went to his workplace in the 1600 block of Oakbrook Drive, where they
arrested him without incident at approximately 8:45 a.m. They also recovered the vehicle he drove from the scene, a black 2015 Kia Optima. Whitley is charged with armed robbery and aggravated assault, both felonies.
Following his arrest, detectives interviewed Whitley, who was also a suspect in another convenience store incident.
On June 18 at approximately 8:35 a.m., a man entered Zack’s Food Rack, at 2052 Candler Road, and asked to purchase several packs of a kratom product. When the clerk handed him the packs, he
fled on foot and got into a vehicle. The clerk followed him and approached the front of the car, demanding that he stop. The man drove forward and struck her in the knees with the vehicle. She stepped aside, and he drove away. The clerk suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
At the time, deputies used store surveillance footage and other investigative resources to tentatively identify the vehicle as a black Kia Optima registered to Whitley. Charges in the June 18 case are pending.”
Don’t know what kratom products are? The Mayo Clinic says they are a supplement that is sold as an energy booster, mood lifter, pain reliever and remedy for the opioid withdrawal.