A robbery in Demopolis that took place Monday was part of a larger spree that crossed state lines and led to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s involvement.

Jaylen Benton

Officers responded to an armed robbery at Burger King on U.S. Hwy. 80 E. at 6:46 p.m. on Monday. Jaylen Benton, 18, of Ellerslie, Georgia, jumped through the drive-thru window holding a pistol handgun in each hand, while Sharae Threadgill, 21, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, acted as driver. Benton stole the two cash register bins before fleeing with Threadgill in a tan Buick Lucerne.

Demopolis Police Chief Rex Flowers said no there were no injuries, and the amount of money stolen is currently undetermined.

Sharae Threadgilll

Following the robbery in Demopolis, the two suspects robbed a Jimmy Johns in Meridian, Mississippi at 7:30 p.m. and a McDonald’s in Brandon, Mississippi at 9:30 p.m. They were arrested by the Warren County Sheriff’s Department following a pursuit and are currently being held in Warren County Jail in Mississippi and charged with the Mississippi robberies.

“The vehicle along with physical description and method of operation is how they can tell this was the same person,” Flowers said.

The two suspects are also currently being investigated for five prior robberies taking place in North Alabama and Georgia, as well as two homicides in Georgia.

Because the suspects crossed state lines, the FBI is involved in the case.

Flowers said individual police departments are separately investigating the crimes that occurred in their jurisdictions but will coordinate with the FBI when charging the suspects.

(This article originally appeared in the Wednesday, March 27 issue of the Demopolis Times.)