The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to report the arrest of a robbery suspect. Emmanuel Ratliff (32) was arrested yesterday afternoon for robbing two separate Dollar General stores last week.
The first robbery took place on August 16th at the Dollar General located near the intersection of S.R.247 and C.R.252B. Ratliff walked into the store and was behaving suspiciously. After the clerks distanced themselves from Ratliff due to his odd behavior, he began tampering with the cash register until it opened. He then stole an undisclosed amount of money from the register and left the store.
The second incident occurred on August 20th at the Dollar General located near the intersection of C.R.240 and S.R.247. Ratliff was attempting to load money on a prepaid card. The transaction failed, but Ratliff began tampering with the computer and was able to load money onto the card. Ratliff then threatened store clerks with a bottle of gasoline and attempted to get them to open the cash register. When the clerks refused, he fled from the store.
Detectives were able to gather forensic and other physical evidence from both scenes and also received information from a witness. As a result, they were able to identify Ratliff as a suspect. Ratliff was apprehended without incident on August 24 at the Windsong Apartment Complex in Lake City.
“Cooperation between citizens and law enforcement once again helped solve these crimes so quickly,” said Sheriff Mark Hunter. “I am proud of our team for conducting such a thorough investigation and gathering the necessary evidence to be able to identify this suspect. Hopefully, this will ensure that he is unable to endanger anyone else for a long time.”
Ratliff has an extensive and violent criminal history including home invasion, fleeing and eluding, burglary of an occupied dwelling, battery, and resisting arrest. He was booked into the Columbia County Detention Facility with no bond.
