North Augusta Attempted Robbery Suspect Arrested In Augusta After Pursuit

North Augusta, SC—According to Lt. Tim Pearson, of the North Augusta Department of Public Safety (NADPS), a suspect in a North Augusta attempted robbery was arrested in Augusta on Tuesday.

Lt. Pearson says, on Tuesday afternoon, November 3rd, at approximately 5:34 p.m., an unidentified black male approached a 53-year-old woman while she was loading her car with recently purchased merchandise from the Shoppes at North Augusta, and told her, “Don’t move!” The woman thought it was a friend playing a joke on her and turned around to find the black male pointing a black semi-automatic pistol at her stomach. She immediately began to scream as loud as possible.

Startled by her reaction, the suspect jumped in his car and left the parking lot to Knox Avenue. Witnesses to the incident informed NADPS that the suspect vehicle was described as an old black and white police car that perhaps had been bought at auction and last seen headed west on Martintown Road towards Georgia Avenue. Responding officers in unmarked patrol vehicles observed the suspect vehicle headed down Georgia Avenue towards the 13th Street bridge, into Georgia.

NADPS relayed this information onto the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) and deputies responded to the downtown Augusta area. NADPS continued to follow the suspect at a normal speed unaware that law enforcement was behind him.

RCSO deputies initiated a traffic stop of the suspect vehicle near Old Town Augusta, near Sandbar Ferry Road. The suspect quickly accelerated and a pursuit ensued. The suspect turned onto the on-ramp to I-520 (Bobby Jones Expressway) headed back towards South Carolina when he lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle spun to a complete stop. The driver exited the vehicle and attempted to run, but deputies were able to secure him immediately. The suspect jumped out of his car leaving it in gear. It rolled down the ramp, striking a NADPS vehicle before coming to rest in a nearby ditch.

The lone occupant of the suspect vehicle was arrested at the scene without incident. He was identified as 43-year-old Larry Jerome Rainey and transported to the Richmond County Detention Center. He faces pending criminal charges from Georgia and will remain incarcerated there until returned to South Carolina. NADPS has an Armed Robbery charge waiting on Rainey, pending his return to North Augusta.

Further investigation into the incident learned that Rainey was involved in other criminal activity in Williston, SC as well as Aiken County, prior to coming to North Augusta. Rainey apparently stole a purse containing a checkbook from an elderly female, in Williston, and tried to cash one of the checks at the First Citizens Bank, in Beech Island.