(Lawrenceville, Georgia, April 22, 2013)  On Saturday, April 20, 2013 at about 6:50 a.m., a suspect committed an armed robbery at the Waffle House located at 6079 Goshen Springs Road in the City of Norcross.  Two Gwinnett County Police Department officers were traveling past the location at about 6:52 a.m. and noticed a person running from the Waffle House.  As the first officer pulled in to investigate, the second officer verified that a robbery in progress call was active at the location.  The description of the person running from the Waffle House matched the description of the robbery perpetrator.  The suspect ran to a waiting black 1994 Honda Accord, which was driven by a second person.  The suspect vehicle quickly fled the scene as the officers approached.

The two officers pursued the vehicle as it left the Waffle House, turning left through a red light onto Jimmy Carter Blvd.  The suspect vehicle led the officers across I 85 and towards Rockbridge Road.  As the officers approached Rockbridge Road the suspects fired multiple shots at the pursuing officers out of their back window, shattering it.  The officers were not hit.  Shortly after the shots were fired, the suspects threw a handgun out the window.  The officers backed off from the suspect vehicle but continued the pursuit.  Shortly after passing through the intersection of Jimmy Carter Blvd. and Rockbridge Road, the suspects fired a second volley of shots, striking the first officer’s patrol car.  Again, the officers were not injured.  The suspects then threw a second handgun out of the window and continued to flee down Jimmy Carter Blvd.

The suspect vehicle pulled into the Home Depot at 4112 Jimmy Carter Blvd. with the officers close behind.  The suspect vehicle drove behind the Home Depot building where it was trapped by the two pursuing officers.  The passenger got out of the vehicle and fled on foot.  The driver was arrested at the car at about 6:57 a.m.  He refused to provide his name, but was later identified as Tamari Adams (B/M, 24 years old).

At 7:04 a.m. the passenger was caught by other responding officers.  He refused to cooperate and would not provide a name.  He later provided the name John Black, which turned out to be false.  The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office identified the passenger as Tavares Douglas Harris (B/M, 25 years old) after checking his fingerprints.

Adams and Harris are each charged with two counts of aggravated assault.  The Norcross Police Department obtained charges for robbery; please contact them for further details on the robbery itself.  Harris is also charged with providing a false name to an officer.  Adams is also charged with fleeing and eluding police, reckless conduct, reckless driving, speeding, and several other traffic violations.  They are both in custody at the Gwinnett County Detention Center without bond.