A Morgan County man has been charged with strong-arm robbery and two counts of simple battery after he allegedly stole lottery scratch-off tickets from a BP station and punched store employees in the process at Rutledge Crossing on the afternoon of Jan. 5.
Dylan Crawford Kendrick, 29, of Rutledge, avoided arrest for a couple of days before being picked up by deputies on Jan. 7.
According to reports, Deputy Christopher Lash was dispatched to the BP after he was advised that a white male who was believed to be naked stole lottery tickets and assaulted two employees of the store before fleeing the scene toward the intersection of Atlanta Highway and Newborn Road, leaving his vehicle in the parking lot.
Lash asked a customer at the gas pump when he arrived if he had seen a naked man exit the store, but the customer said he had not.
Lash then observed a white male walking to the front door of the BP in a green shirt and dark pants from the direction of Dollar General.
Lash asked dispatch to clarify a clothing description, but dispatch maintained that he was reportedly naked. Lash pulled his patrol vehicle to the side of the store and was about to enter to contact the man in the green shirt when the customer at the gas pump advised the officer that the male had just run around the corner of the building into the woods.
A store employee told Lash that he was the only worker in the store at the time of the incident. The suspect was seated at a gaming machine within the store as the employee began to sweep the floor.
The employee said he was in the back corner near the wine cooler when the suspect ran behind the counter, began ripping multiple scratch-off lottery tickets from the rolls, and attempted to run out of the store. The employee tried to intercept the suspect at the door, but he punched him four or five times and dropped all the tickets.
The store owner was sitting outside in a vehicle and tried to intervene but wound up getting punched himself.
According to the report, the suspect then made it out of the store, where he was observed removing his shirt and sweatshirt, which were still lying in the parking lot just outside of the front doors.
Sergeant Chad Lanier of the MCSO Criminal Investigations Division arrived at the store and learned that the suspect likely got a ride out of the area from a person known to the deputies.
Lash drove by Kendrick’s residence, but he did not appear to be home then.
Witnesses confirmed that it was Kendrick who had snatched the tickets and punched the employees.