Richmond County deputies responded Wednesday to reports of a man accused of walking into gas stations, asking for lottery tickets, and then snatching them before running off. By the end of the day, 20-year-old Jacob Stille was in custody, facing two robbery charges tied to the string of incidents.
According to WJBF, deputies responded to multiple gas stations throughout Richmond County regarding a man accused of entering businesses, requesting lottery tickets, and then snatching the tickets before taking off. The alleged incidents occurred at various locations throughout the county, with the suspect reportedly repeating the same approach at each stop.
Flock Cameras Help Track Down the Suspect
Investigators turned to technology to close in on their suspect. Deputies utilized Flock License Plate Reader cameras to help locate the vehicle involved, the station's report notes, a tool increasingly used by local law enforcement to track vehicles tied to active cases. That lead reportedly paid off quickly.
Stille was identified as the suspect and was later taken into custody during a traffic stop at the intersection of Gordon Highway and Olive Road, per the same account. He now faces two counts of robbery by sudden snatching, a charge that applies when property is forcibly taken directly from a person without the level of force required for armed robbery.
Investigation Still Active
As of the report, Richmond County investigators said they had nothing further to share. This remains an active investigation, and no further information is available at this time, the outlet reported, leaving open how many separate stops were targeted and what exactly was taken at each one.
In a 2022 Newnan case, a man named Joe Cypranowski was accused of stealing scratch-off tickets worth $1,200 from a gas station — and, in an odd twist, officials said he won $700 from a ticket he's accused of stealing, according to Fox News. His bond was set at $3,000 in that case. In a separate incident reported by the Times-Georgian, a gas station clerk was arrested in April after she allegedly activated a specialty book of lottery tickets and later threw the tickets in the trash, facing ten felony charges before being released on a $7,500 bond. Those cases are unrelated to the Richmond County incidents.
