Two Arrested for Aggravated Robbery

MT. SELMAN — Cherokee County officials have rounded up two suspects in an aggravated robbery. Saturday afternoon just after 5:30, the Hot Spot #2 convenience store in Mt. Selman was robbed at gunpoint. According to the clerk, an individual came in the doors on the south side of the store, walked immediately around the counter, and pulled a gun demanding all the money. Once the suspect got the money, he reportedly ran back out the same doors. The clerk described the suspect as a young white male, wearing a red shirt with white lettering, and a bandana covering the bottom portion of his face. He was able to describe the pistol as a blue steel revolver with a wooden handle.

A witness to the robbery stated that he had just purchased a drink from the store and was leaving in his vehicle. He pulled around the rear of the store and observed a white male standing at the back of the store. He said the male was wearing a maroon shirt and turned his head to conceal his face when the witness drove past.

As the witness continued around the store and stopped to enter Highway 69, he looked back at the store and reportedly saw the same person standing next to the clerk behind the counter. The witness said he turned back into the parking lot on the south side of the store and saw the suspect running across the grass toward a blue Dodge Durango that was parked behind bushes on CR 3914. He stated that the passenger side door was already open, and the suspect jumped into the vehicle, which then sped off southbound on County Road 3914. The witness returned to the store to check on the clerk and wait for Deputies to arrive.

Using the information provided by the witness and the store clerk, law officers broadcast the suspect and vehicle information to other officers who located the suspect vehicle near CR 4910 in the Troup area. Inside the vehicle, with the two suspects, Det. Joey Ray and Deputy Dowell Baker located and recovered an H&R .22 caliber blue steel revolver with wooden pistol grips, $257 in cash, a black bandana, and a cloth mesh drawstring bag. Taken into custody were Jeremy Ray Sides (pictured), 20, of Troup, and Jacob Benjamin Reno, 17, of Jacksonville. Officials believe that Sides entered the store with the gun, and that Reno was the getaway driver. The investigation continues as Detectives compare shoe and tire impressions cast at the scene with those of the suspects and their vehicle. Other charges may still be pending based on the outcome of the investigation.