Investigators: armed robbers order food, demand cash at Waffle House

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Three men are accused of a bold armed robbery at a Waffle House where they not only demanded money, but allegedly ordered food from the waitresses.  Two of the suspected robbers are in custody, but investigators hope the public can help them track down the third.

According to Lt. Rick Gandee with the Butts County Sheriff's Office, three young men walked into the restaurant on Highway 36 West and sat down at the counter just after 11:00 p.m. on July 20.  One of the men went back outside the restaurant to act as a lookout, he explained.

Surveillance video captures two of the men ordering food and drinks while investigators said it appeared the men waited for other customers to leave the restaurant.  They then forced the two waitresses to empty the cash register and retrieve other money from the back office.

Lt. Gandee said the men got away with the cash, but left their DNA behind.

"They ordered the food and then left the drinks that they were drinking out of on the counter for us, which is why we collected that at the scene," Lt. Gandee explained.

Police in Clayton County arrested two of the suspects Wednesday for an unrelated crime after they allegedly broke into a storage unit in Jonesboro.  Michael Funches and Armel Jones, both 20, face charges of smash and grab burglary and obstructing an officer after they reportedly fired shots at police.

The third suspect in the Waffle House case remains at large and officials in Butts County hope someone will recognize him from the surveillance video and come forward. Gandee said the man lives in Clayton County and goes by the names "9" and "Bubba."  He has the number "9" tattooed on his arm.


The Butts County Sheriff's Office has offered a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the man's arrest.