Local

1 arrested, police search for 2 others after day-long crime spree

ATLANTA — An armed robbery spree that spanned three counties and lasted more than six hours came to an end Wednesday afternoon after police arrested a man considered to be a dangerous gang member.
 
Two other suspects are still on the loose.
 
A mother of two, who did not want to be identified, told Channel 2's Liz Artz she came face to face with Brian Kennedy when he pistol whipped her and robbed outside of a Suntrust bank branch in East Point.
 
She told Artz she thought he was going to kill her.
 
"'I'm about to die,' and that's what I thought," the woman said.
 
The woman said she was still shaken up and emotional after being robbed of her purse and struck across the face with the gun. She told Artz she literally looked down the barrel of a gun.
 
"It's a scary feeling to think that just for $15 you might not see the rest of your family," the woman said.
 
Police think the man who put that fear in her is Kennedy. He was taken into custody by U.S. marshals Thursday.
 
Police told Channel 2 Action News Wednesday that Kennedy went on a day-long crime spree with two other men, including robbing three people at gunpoint, after stealing a silver BMW from a DeKalb County gas station.
 
Patricia Carter lives in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of southwest Atlanta. She spotted the stolen BMW around 2:30 Wednesday.
 
"It was not right at all, something had to be wrong, so the first thing I thought to do (was) call 911," Carter said.
 
Thursday morning the U.S. marshals arrested Kennedy, who they say is a dangerous gang member suspected of rape, nearly a dozen carjackings, as many as six armed robberies. He's also believed to have been part of a shootout in the Marietta Boulevard area.
 
Police hope his arrest will lead to the identity of the other two suspects from Wednesday's crime spree.
 
"It's eye opening. It happens in a split second. You just never know what's going to happen," Carter said.
 
There is a Crime Stoppers reward for the arrest and conviction of the other two suspects. If you have information about their whereabouts, you're asked to call 404-577-8477.
 
Police say you can remain anonymous.