Gwinnett Daily Post

Photo by Brian Giandelone

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett police have implicated a Snellville mother as a conspirator in a string of high-profile armored car robberies, bringing the suspect tally to six in crimes that traversed county lines and left one courier dead.

Police believe Desiree Jones, 26, conspired with two other suspects who trailed and watched a Loomis armored truck on March 28 and another operated by Dunbar Armored Truck Inc. two days later. Neither planned robberies were carried out.

Jones, who remains at large, has a child with Stacey Dooley, 34. He was among the three initial suspects apprehended in the months-long investigation, said Gwinnett police spokesman Cpl. Jake Smith.

“If anybody knows where (Jones) is, they can call in (to police),” Smith said.

Jones is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony crime, according to an arrest warrant released Wednesday.

Officers who attempted to serve a warrant at Jones’ Grand Manor Trail home observed a garaged vehicle she’d reported stolen in July, collecting a $3,400 insurance claim. She consequently faces insurance fraud and false report of a crime charges.

Smith said investigators believe Jones aided in the planning stages of robberies in the Snellville area, but did not physically participate.

Police have charged Dooley and three other men — Ashley Henderson, Edward Thornton and Quentin Booker — with armed robbery for allegedly playing more active roles. The armored car robberies in Gwinnett include a Dec. 7 hold-up at the Mall of Georgia, when shots were fired, and a Nov. 11 robbery outside a Bank of America branch on Buford Highway.

The robbery spree turned deadly March 15, when Lawrenceville resident and armored car courier Gary Castillo was gunned down outside a grocery store near Atlanta. DeKalb police have charged Henderson, Dooley and Thornton with murder in the slaying.

Marietta police arrested the sixth suspect, Veronica Bullard, a former Dunbar employee, on armed robbery and conspiracy charges. Smith said she’s now charged with party to the crime of armed robbery in Gwinnett.

“That implies (Bullard) may have done something beyond just sitting at the table,” he said.