THOMASVILLE — A suspect in a Friday night armed robbery at a business pistol-whipped two store employees and stole money while another employee hid, a Thomasville Police Department officer said.

A Shoe Department employee was sitting outside the U.S. 19 South business on break a little before 9 p.m. when a masked man approached her from the rear and put a firearm against the side of her face.

“When she turned to look, he struck her on her head,” said Maj. Wade Glover, TPD public information officer.

The suspect entered the store and struck another employee in the mouth with the pistol, breaking two of the clerk’s teeth.

“She fell to the floor,” Glover said. “He kept telling her to move faster.”

The suspect forced the employee to open the cash drawer, grabbed money and fled. A third employee was hiding in the store and called 911 on her cell phone.

A Thomas County Sheriff’s Office deputy patrolling in the area saw a man fitting the armed robber’s description running along Big Star Drive. Police were notified, and a perimeter was established.

Within 15 minutes of the armed robbery, the suspect, Kevarius Wimberly, 23, 104 Mildred Lane, was in custody.

“He was found hiding in a drainage culvert pipe on Big Street Drive,” Glover said. “An officer saw his tennis shoes protruding from the pipe.”

Some of the the money taken from the store was found in Wimberly’s pockets. The firearm used in the armed robbery and some of the suspect’s clothing were found near the arrest location, Glover said.

Wimberly is charged with armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820