An Eatonton man is in jail after robbing the Eatonton McDonald’s at gunpoint, according to authorities. No one was injured in the robbery.
Quadric Markee Griffin, 38, of Eatonton, was arrested Oct. 20 on charges of felony armed robbery, two felony counts of terroristic threats and acts, and one count of misdemeanor theft by taking. He is being held in jail without bond at Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
The robbery happened just before the restaurant on Oak Street opened. Two employees saw Griffin coming inside the restaurant with what appeared to be a gun in his hand, according to Eatonton Police Department reports by Officer Jeremy McClure and Police Chief Howell Cardwell.
The two women ran to hide in a “safe room,” but Griffin chased after them and held what they believed to be a handgun to their heads and said, “Open the safe, or y’all will die.” Cardwell said the two women feared for their lives, so they opened the safe.
Griffin grabbed the money bag and some other money from a cash register to the drawer. Griffin reportedly told the women they’d be shot if they called the police, and then he ran out of the restaurant’s back door.
When police arrived, the women identified the robber as Griffin, a.k.a. “John Boogie,” whom they recognized as a former employee.
“We’re very familiar with him because we’ve dealt with him a lot,” Cardwell said.
The police chief knew Griffin’s hangouts, so Cardwell went to find him at a residence on Jenkins Court. Griffin was not there, but he had been there earlier dressed in clothes that matched the description of the person who had robbed McDonald’s. People in the house told Cardwell that Griffin had taken someone’s coat before he left.
As the police chief was leaving the residence, he was stopped by the owner of a nearby business located between Jenkins Court and McDonald’s. That person showed Cardwell some security video footage of a man matching Griffin’s description walking in the area early that morning. The owner also showed Cardwell clothing and a homemade replica of a gun he had found that matched descriptions from the McDonald’s robbery.
Cardwell put out a BOLO for Griffin and was notified later that Griffin had turned himself into law enforcement authorities in Athens on Saturday.
Cardwell said the stolen cash of more than $1,000 was not recovered.