ATLANTA (AP) — The two men who FBI officials said are behind a recent series of violent armed robberies targeting Asian-owned businesses in metro Atlanta, appeared in federal court on Nov. 28.
In the hearing, a judge found enough evidence to keep the case going and to keep the two suspects in jail.
Investigators said 22-year-old Tabyron Smith and 22-year-old Dravion Ware were connected to the robberies of 10 spas and restaurants across the metro, from Duluth to Stone Mountain to Atlanta.
Both men appeared before a federal magistrate judge at the Richard B. Russell Building.
An FBI agent testified about receiving a tip he said connected Smith to surveillance video that aired on a local television station.
The agent testified he connected Ware to the crimes because of a previous encounter Ware had with police while with Smith in Douglas County.
Ware’s attorney questioned whether comparing mug shots to surveillance video was enough but in the end, the judge found probable cause and cause to keep both men detained.
Police are still looking for a third, unnamed person, who participated in a few of the robberies.