Spring Break
Suspect returns to jail after release
CAROLYN CRIST
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: News
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Clifton James Thomas, 28, was charged with malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, wearing a mask to conceal identity and possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime.
Athens-Clarke County police issued the warrants Monday, believing he shot store clerk Djamal Atroune during the Lay's Kwin Korner robbery, and a Magistrate court judge denied him bail Tuesday morning.
Atroune was shot once in the chest at 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 5.
Police said they believe Thomas robbed the Kangaroo convenience store on Prince Avenue at 4 a.m., approximately one half hour after Atroune was killed at the Lay's Kwik Korner store on Lexington Road.
However, Thomas did not steal anything, police said.
Thomas was arrested Dec. 20 in connection with the Kangaroo convenience robbery and charged with armed robbery, two counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and wearing a mask to conceal identity.
Before the murder, Lay's Kwik Korner was open 24 hours a day but began closing at 11:30 each night.
Athens-Clarke County detectives said they arrested Thomas before the murder investigation was complete so he wouldn't commit additional armed robberies. Local companies reported concern.
Thomas was scheduled for a bond hearing on Jan. 4, but his attorney postponed it to gather more information.
Thomas was released from Rivers State Prison in 2005 after a 10-year sentence with no parole after committing armed robbery in Athens-Clarke County in 1995, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.
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