UPDATE: A Covington man has been arrested in connection to the recent string of armed robbery attempts in Rockdale retail stores.

On Thursday, Capt. Michael Ransom of the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office spotted a vehicle matching the description of the suspect’s vehicle in a grocery store parking lot on Salem Road.  He identified and detained the suspect, while other task force units rushed to assist.
 
Jonathan Isaiah Hall, 23, of Covington, faces charges on three counts of armed robbery and one count of being a fugitive from justice.  Hall was arrested without incident and is being held in the Rockdale County Jail.
 
Task force members later served a search warrant at the suspect’s residence and recovered a handgun believed to have been used in the robberies.
 
“I want to commend Captain Michael Ransom of our Field Services Bureau, as well as the other members of the task force, for their diligence and quick response,” said Sheriff Eric Levett.  “In less than three hours from the initiation of the task force, ‘We got him!’ We are very fortunate in Conyers and Rockdale County to have diligent and dedicated law enforcement officers who put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect our citizens.  We are very serious about addressing violent crime in this county and are going to go after every single violent offender with everything we have.”

The task force that had been convened to address this series of robberies met at 10 a.m.

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(3:07 p.m. Aug. 29, 2013) The Rockdale County Sheriff's Office, Conyers Police Department, Rockdale E9-1-1, and other state and federal partners have created a task force to aggressively address robberies.

The task force will be focusing their attention on a suspect in three armed robberies and attempted robberies that have occurred in the daytime hours within the last week in the Conyers area. The first robbery occurred on Dogwood Drive on August 23. Two other attempted robberies occurred within approximately an hour of each other on August 28 - one on Highway 20 South, and one on Pine Log Road. The suspect's description is similar in all three incidents: a heavyset black male, age 25-35, above-average height, with facial hair. He wore a dark knit face covering, black gloves, and blue jeans, in the robberies on August 28. He was seen driving a silver late-model Chevrolet Malibu.

"This man is considered armed and dangerous," said Sheriff Eric Levett in the first task force meeting. "We have brought our local, state, and federal partners together to identify, located, and arrest this suspect. and provide our joint resources to address these crimes. We want it known that we are sharing information, sharing resources, and providing the tools necessary to catch this criminal and prevent harm to our citizens."

Lt. Chris Moon of the Conyers Police Department will serve as the task force commander, and Lt. Sonya Cordero of the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office will serve as the assistant commander Other agents and officers from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation; Georgia Board of Pardons/Paroles; Georgia State Patrol; and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are also participating in the task force.

Residents with information as to the identity and whereabouts of the perpetrator are encouraged to contact the Conyers Police Department at 770-483-6600; the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office at 770-278-8000; or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS.

The Rockdale County Sheriff's Office is offering a cash reward for information leading to the apprehension of this offender.