Armed fugitive leads Hancock deputies on 3-county chase after Dollar General robbery
An armed robbery, tri-county chase and police standoff ended in the arrest of a fugitive Sunday by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, the department said.
The incident started when the sheriff’s office received a call at 8:03 p.m. that an armed robbery had occurred at Dollar General on Highway 43 near North Benville Road, according to a press release from Chief Deputy Jeremy Skinner.
While en route to the store, Skinner said, a deputy spotted a vehicle that matched the Dollar General employees’ description.
When the deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop at 8:15 p.m., “the driver of the vehicle did not comply and refused to stop, leading deputies to pursue the vehicle through Hancock, Harrison (counties) and into Jackson County,” said Skinner.
Enlisting the help of several law enforcement agencies, the sheriff’s office managed to stop the vehicle.
Once stopped on Gulf Stream Road, a woman exited the vehicle and began pointing a weapon at her head, Skinner said, but deputies and officers were able to safely take her into custody at 9:30 p.m.
At the time of arrest, the woman provided identification cards that said her name was Tony Haynes. But during the booking, deputies ran her fingerprints through AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System).
The fingerprints matched those of Celeste Sellers, 52, a fugitive wanted in Alabama and Georgia on charges of fraud and burglary.
After obtaining a warrant for Seller’s vehicle, deputies recovered all of the stolen currency from the Dollar General robbery, Skinner said.
The sheriff’s office charged Sellers with armed robbery, providing false information to a police officer, felony fleeing and reckless driving.
Sellers is currently being held at the Hancock County Jail, pending her initial appearance in Hancock County Justice Court. Both Alabama and Georgia have been notified that she is in custody.
This story was originally published January 24, 2023 at 4:06 PM.
