03/04/08
“Two Plead Guilty to
2005 Armed Robbery”
Nearly three years after the incident
Richard Allen Green and Robert Jacob Mallard have both pled guilty to a
2005 armed robbery at the Longbranch Quick Mart located at the
intersection of Longbranch Rd and Hwy 52.
On March 9th,
2005 investigator’s from the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office were
called to the scene of the armed robbery at the BP Service Station
located at 4766 Highway 52 at the intersection of Long Branch Rd. During
the incident an undisclosed amount of money was taken from the store and
a part time employee was “pistol whipped” in the parking.
A stocking cap, believed to have been
left at the scene when the suspects fled, and other evidence were
collected from the scene by investigators. Many may remember a
photograph of the stocking cap being circulated to the media in an
effort to generate information on the case. The media’s assistance in
the case was important and did assist in generating additional
information about the incident.
Investigators worked long hours on the
case, preparing evidence, interviewing witnesses and completing a
detailed case file for the District Attorney’s Office. Following a six
month investigation, investigators from the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s
Office arrested Richard Allen Green (41) and Robert Jacob Mallard (28)
in connection with the armed robbery. Richard Allen Green, of Dahlonega,
was taken into custody and charged with armed robbery on September 9th,
2005 during the execution of a search warrant at his residence. Robert
Jacob Mallard, formerly of Dahlonega, was also charged with armed
robbery, aggravated assault and battery in connection with the March 9th
incident.
On February 29th, 2008 Green entered a
plea of guilty to the offense of Robbery and was sentenced, by Chief
Superior Court Judge David Barrett, to ten years with five years to be
served in confinement with the Georgia Department of Corrections and the
remainder to be served on probation. Green was also ordered to pay $1585
in restitution to the victims.
During his plea Green made detailed
statements and answered questions about his involvement in the crime. In
a his statement to the court Green said he and Mallard had planned the
robbery and that he was the one who had worn the mask, which was
discovered at the scene. Green admitted that he had personally cut the
eye holes out of the stocking cap, which he had obtained from an
associate. Green, who lived next door to the convenience store, stated
he and Mallard walked around the back of the store and were surprised
when they saw a part time employee of the store, coming from the area of
the dumpster. Green continued with his statements saying he entered the
store and looked back to see Mallard holding a gun over the part time
employee’s head. Mallard then entered the store and Green jumped the
counter and took the money while Mallard held the store clerk at
gunpoint. Green stated they ran from the store and he was dropping money
as they ran. Green also stated he was having difficulty breathing so he
removed the mask and attempted to put it in his pocket but must have
been unsuccessful in doing so. According to Green he and Mallard ran
back to his residence, then got into Mallard’s van and traveled down
Hwy 52 away from Dahlonega. Green stated he and Mallard equally split
the two to three hundred dollars they had netted from the robbery. In a
previous statement Green said he did not remember specifically what the
stolen money had been spent on but admitted a portion of it may have be
spent on drugs.
On Monday, March 3rd Mallard pled guilty
to the offense of armed robbery and was sentenced, by Chief Superior
Court Judge David Barrett, to twenty years with ten to be served in the
confinement of the Georgia Department of Corrections and the remainder
to be served on probation. Mallard was also ordered to share in the
payment of $1585 in restitution to the victims.
Mallard stated to the court that he had
robbed the store along with Richard Allen Green. At sentencing Mallard
agreed to talk with the Sheriff’s Office about the incident and drug
use. Later that same day Mallard got the opportunity to speak with
investigators about the details of the incident and his drug use.
Mallard’s details of the robbery were
very similar as described by Green. Mallard said he used a handgun
in committing the act and when they came around from the back of the
store he did hit the part time employee on the head when the employee
did not get on the ground when he was told him to. Mallard spoke
about his methamphetamine addiction and that he was probably using
methamphetamine when he robbed the store. Mallard said he used
some of the money from the robbery to purchase more meth. Mallard
also said that he had not used meth since his arrest for the robbery and
that getting locked up in Lumpkin County’s Detention Center was the
best treatment for him. Mallard told us the best way he could
describe Methamphetamine is “it’s the devil” and that if had he
not been using it he would not have committed the robbery.
This description of meth as being “the devil” is common to hear from
many methamphetamine users and shows the mind altering force of the
drug.
We are happy that all of our long hours
of working on this case paid off and that justice was served. It
was interesting to hear Green and Mallard describe the events of that
evening and how the details fit much of the details that we had already
pieced together from our examination of the evidence collected from the
scene and our interviews with witnesses.
Photographs of the accused and the mask
originally collected from the scene are shown below. This is the mask
Mr. Green said he wore during the commission of the crime.
Captain Jason Stover
Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office
