TIFTON — Police are investigating the Monday night armed robbery of a man who said he put his finger behind the trigger of a pistol one of his assailants had pointed in his face before putting up a fight against the two men.

Two Ashburn men turned themselves in to authorities Monday and are charged with the unrelated Sunday armed robbery of another man.

Sharod Demon Bateman, 21, 222 E. Jackson Ave., Apt. L., and Justin “Pete” Ewing, 20, 735 Garden St., both of Ashburn, turned themselves in to authorities and were booked into the Tift County Jail shortly after 3 p.m. Monday for the Sunday armed robbery of Mozelle Jackson, 60, of Sycamore.

An officer arrived at 310 Old Omega Road Sunday at 6:15 p.m. to respond to an E-911 call that a man had been robbed. When he arrived, he found Jackson sitting in a lawn chair. The officer noted that Jackson had blood all over his clothing.

Jackson told the officer responding that he had given a ride to two men from Ashburn. He said he had assisted the two men with rides before and never had any problem with them or felt threatened by them. But Sunday, after giving the men a ride, he was parking his car at 310 Old Omega Road to drop the men off when they struck him in the head with a pipe and stole approximately $100 from him before fleeing on foot. Jackson was treated in the emergency room at Tift Regional Medical Center Sunday and released.

Another man was robbed at gunpoint at 11 p.m. Monday at his Brookfield Mews apartment, 99 Tifton-Eldorado Road. Edward Prince, 57, told the Tifton police officer who responded that he had been over at a friend’s house and when he returned home he put his key in the door of his apartment and had started opening the door when two black males approached him. Prince said the men, who were “younger,” were wearing white hoodies. He said the men pulled out pistols. One of the men, Prince said, put a pistol in his face and ordered him to give him all of his money. Prince said he grabbed the pistol and put his finger behind the trigger and started fighting off one offender. Prince said he had that offender on the ground at his apartment when the second offender appeared and began beating him on the back of the head with the pistol he was carrying. Prince said the two men took $300 from him before fleeing on foot in the direction of Charles Spencer School.

Prince was treated and released from Tift Regional Medical Center.

Lt. Porter Jackson of the Tifton Police Department encourages anyone with information about this armed robbery or others to call the TPD at 382-3132 and speak with an officer or detective. He also urges citizens to be aware of their surroundings, especially at night, and not to hesitate to call E-911.

“If you see someone or a group of people, use caution,” Jackson said. “If you are walking or traveling and see three or four or five people and it looks like they are coming toward you, flee and get to a telephone and call 911.

“I’d rather a citizen who feels threatened call 911 for an officer than not call and actually get hurt.”

Detectives at the TPD are also continuing their investigation of an early Saturday morning armed robbery. A 48-year-old man reported that he was robbed by several black men he did not know. The man told the responding officer that he was struck in the head several times with a handgun and the men stole his wallet that contained $10 and a pocket knife he valued at $10. The man said the incident happened at the intersection of Ermine Avenue and Alder Street. The man refused medical treatment.



To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.