The suspects in Sunday night's fatal shooting at Ingles may also have been involved with three armed robberies in Gwinnett County, as well as two in late August at businesses south of Cumming.
Forsyth County Sheriff Ted Paxton said Cumming and Gwinnett County police have helped with the cases, which have resulted in four arrests so far.
“It’s been a very long, hard investigation with a tremendous amount of cooperation with all the agencies involved,” Paxton said.
To date, those arrested include Nakitta J. Holmes, 19, Tyrice Kendall Adside and Sharod Johnson, both 18, and a 16-year-old boy.
Each suspect faces charges of armed robbery and murder in connection with the incident at the Canton Road grocery store.
Sunday night’s fatal encounter, which claimed the life of security guard David Casto, occurred in the jurisdiction of the Cumming Police Department.
Assistant Police Chief Casey Tatum said the agency is grateful for the assistance of the sheriff‘s office.
“We greatly appreciate their help,” Tatum said. “That was a joint effort that got this solved quickly.”
The murder is the second in Cumming since May.
In the first death, a man died from injuries he suffered in a beating at his home on Kelly Mill Road. A suspect has been arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault.
Tatum said he doesn't think the incidents indicate that the city is unsafe.
“I think these were just random acts that happened to happen here,” Tatum said.
He said many of Cumming’s police officers knew Casto, 37, of Winder.
“I don’t know how long he was employed there, but our guys communicated with him quite often,” Tatum said.
The store was closed Monday during the investigation into the case, which authorities were quick to say could be related to other recent armed robberies in the area.
No injuries were reported in those incidents, which authorities had described as unusual for the area.
Sheriff 's reports show the incidents occurred about 1:30 a.m. Aug. 25 and 26, with at least one suspect participating in both robberies.
The sheriff's office has been working with neighboring jurisdictions on the cases, which occurred at a Chevron store on Buford Highway and a Waffle House on Bethelview Road.
In each case, two or three armed men took money from the cash registers of the business after threatening the employees.
In both incidents, the suspects wanted to access the business’ safe, but could not because the employees did not know how to open it.
Forsyth County Sheriff Ted Paxton said Cumming and Gwinnett County police have helped with the cases, which have resulted in four arrests so far.
“It’s been a very long, hard investigation with a tremendous amount of cooperation with all the agencies involved,” Paxton said.
To date, those arrested include Nakitta J. Holmes, 19, Tyrice Kendall Adside and Sharod Johnson, both 18, and a 16-year-old boy.
Each suspect faces charges of armed robbery and murder in connection with the incident at the Canton Road grocery store.
Sunday night’s fatal encounter, which claimed the life of security guard David Casto, occurred in the jurisdiction of the Cumming Police Department.
Assistant Police Chief Casey Tatum said the agency is grateful for the assistance of the sheriff‘s office.
“We greatly appreciate their help,” Tatum said. “That was a joint effort that got this solved quickly.”
The murder is the second in Cumming since May.
In the first death, a man died from injuries he suffered in a beating at his home on Kelly Mill Road. A suspect has been arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault.
Tatum said he doesn't think the incidents indicate that the city is unsafe.
“I think these were just random acts that happened to happen here,” Tatum said.
He said many of Cumming’s police officers knew Casto, 37, of Winder.
“I don’t know how long he was employed there, but our guys communicated with him quite often,” Tatum said.
The store was closed Monday during the investigation into the case, which authorities were quick to say could be related to other recent armed robberies in the area.
No injuries were reported in those incidents, which authorities had described as unusual for the area.
Sheriff 's reports show the incidents occurred about 1:30 a.m. Aug. 25 and 26, with at least one suspect participating in both robberies.
The sheriff's office has been working with neighboring jurisdictions on the cases, which occurred at a Chevron store on Buford Highway and a Waffle House on Bethelview Road.
In each case, two or three armed men took money from the cash registers of the business after threatening the employees.
In both incidents, the suspects wanted to access the business’ safe, but could not because the employees did not know how to open it.