The Man Behind the Mask

This morning at about 10:34 am, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office responded to a bank robbery at the Fifth Third Bank, 2756 block of Peach Orchard Road. On arrival, officers learned that a suspect entered the bank, armed with what looked like a black in color handgun and wearing a mask. The suspect demanded and received an undisclosed amount of money before fleeing in what was described as a small gray vehicle.

An alert uniformed officer who heard the description recalled taking a missing vehicle report earlier in the day on a grey in color Mazda Millenia. The owner of the vehicle had loaned his car to an acquaintance, Jeremiah Williamson (above), who failed to return the car.

At about 12:30 pm, investigators located the missing Mazda and Mr. Williamson at the residence of the suspect's sister at 2526 Tara Heights Circle. Mr. Williamson was located hiding under a bed in the residence. The clothing worn in the robbery, money, mask and gun replica (all stained with dye from a dye pack) were recovered at the residence.

Mr. Williamson, 23, of 3010 Miranda Road in Augusta was charged with armed robbery and committed to the Richmond County Jail where he is being held without bond. He is also held on one count of burglary, two counts of credit card fraud, a state court bench warrant and a probation violation warrant, all unrelated to the robbery.