CONYERS- Local authorities in North Carolina have arrested a man who allegedly robbed a sports equipment store after receiving a car “jump” from a Conyers Police (CPD) officer.

Jimmy Mathis, 26, was taken into custody by the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department without incident at a local motel in the Charlotte, North Carolina area Wednesday evening, according to CPD Capt. Jackie Dunn. 

The firearm that was used in the armed robbery of Hibbett Sports, 1486 Dogwood Drive, Conyers, was recovered in Mathis’ possession at the time of the arrest. The gun was reported stolen out of Lawrenceville, Georgia. A black jacket worn by Mathis at the time of the robbery was also found in the motel room.

Conyers Police traveled to Charlotte to interview Mathis and he confessed to the robbery. 

On the night of Aug. 22, Mathis busted through the back door of Hibbett Sports and stole an undisclosed amount of money from the store registers. He then left out of the back door and ran towards the nearby parking lot. 

Prior to the robbery, CPD officer Christopher Burns had an encounter with the suspect. According to the police report, Mathis told Burns the car battery to his white Chevrolet Monte Carlo had stopped working and asked "if I could jumpstart his vehicle."

The vehicle was parked in the rear parking lot area of the Conyers Crossroad Shopping Center, where Hibbett Sports is also located.

Burns obliged and jumpstarted Mathis’ vehicle. He also inspected Mathis’ class A driver's license, and he was identified as Mathis. Mathis told Burns he was a truck driver for Sysco.

Mathis and Burns then left the area. About 20 minutes later, Burns was dispatched to Hibbett Sports to respond to the aforementioned armed robbery. The description of the suspect who robbed the store matched the description of Mathis, according to the report.

Mathis is approximately 6 feet tall and weighs about 200 pounds. On the night of the robbery, he was wearing a black jacket, with "Marshalls 30th" on the chest area, black pants and black shoes.