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Armed robbery suspect caught
Managed to avoid capture during manhunt in March
Battle Booking photo
Battle

CUMMING — Kinneth Battle likely thought he was in the clear when he eluded Forsyth County Sheriff’s deputies after an armed robbery March 15.

That night, authorities had been waiting for Battle to return to his home in the Kentmere subdivision. But when he did, the armed suspect managed to escape on foot into nearby woods, triggering an unsuccessful 11-hour manhunt near a 5-square mile area near Hwy. 9 and Bethelview Road in south Forsyth.

Battle’s freedom ended Wednesday night with his arrest at an apartment complex off of Old Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell. 

“He was surprised,” said Doug Rainwater, spokesman for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office. “He wasn’t expecting us to be there. But after a brief chase, we were able to apprehend him this time and we brought him back to Forsyth County.”

Rainwater said Battle is being held without bond at the local detention center. Battle will be required to serve any jail time in Forsyth before answering to charges against him — and there likely will be many — in other cities and counties.

“It’s going to be a long time before he’s released from us before he can answer to the bond requirements in other jurisdictions,” Rainwater said.

In Forsyth, Battle faces six charges, including burglary, theft by receiving and possession of a sawed-off shotgun. He also has been charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug-related objects and felony obstruction of justice.

In addition, he has reportedly violated the terms of his probation on a previous offense and has outstanding warrants from several jurisdictions in Fulton County.

According to the sheriff’s office, Battle had been living in Roswell since the March robbery of a BP station on Hwy. 9 and Windward Parkway in Alpharetta.

Alpharetta police have said that one of the two men who entered the store, later identified as Fredrequis Cobb, jumped the counter and snatched the cash register drawer.

He and the second unknown suspect then ran out. Cobb left in a Jeep, which had been parked on the side of the building and is believed to have been driven by Battle, while the second suspect fled on foot.

Cobb was arrested after trying to hide in the back of the jeep. However, Battle ran off into a nearby wooded area, armed with an AK-47 or an AR-15 or similar weapon.

The ensuing search involved the sheriff’s office and other law enforcement agencies, tracking dogs, SWAT teams and a helicopter.

“We were confident he wasn’t in Forsyth County, so that’s what led us to other jurisdictions and what led us to information about him being in the city of Roswell,” Rainwater said.