Gwinnett Daily Post

Photo by Corinne Nicholson

LILBURN -- Three men invested some planning into robbing a Lilburn Wendy's restaurant Wednesday night but failed to account for witnesses in the drive-through, police said

Two gunmen -- later identified as Tucker residents Terrance Callen and Adrian Cotton, both 18 -- reportedly entered the 4234 U.S. Highway 29 restaurant about 8:30 p.m. with handguns.

Callen robbed employees of cash from both registers and the store's safe, while Cotton ordered all customers to lie face-down on the floor. Among those customers were three children, ages 1 to 8, said Lilburn police spokesman Capt. Bruce Hedley.

Meanwhile, a witness in the drive-through was calling 911, Hedley said.

The alleged robbers fled the store, jumped in a Ford Taurus driven by another Tucker man, Sean Fuller, 26, and got about three-fourths of a mile away before police spotted them and stopped the car, Hedley said.

Inside the vehicle, police allegedly found both handguns, a bag of money, and a detailed, hand-drawn sketch of the restaurant.

"It was quite an accurate sketch," Hedley said.

One of the weapons was an antique 8 mm revolver that dates to 1892. Hedley said the weapon was manufactured in France but does not appear to be stolen, based on its serial number. How the suspects came to possess it is under investigation, he said.

Hedley said his department is conferring with others in metro Atlanta to see if the men fit descriptions in similar heists. All three suspects are charged with armed robbery, false imprisonment and cruelty to children.

"Right now, we don't have any credible information that they were involved in other types of crime in the area," he said.

All restaurant patrons cooperated, and no injuries were reported.

"We find this extremely troubling," Hedley said. "To commit this type of crime with children (involved), it's unbelievable."