Thursday, January 25, 2024–9:07 a.m.
-Staff reports-
A man involved in a reported robbery and chase in West Rome Wednesday remains in the Floyd County Jail without bond.
According to a Rome Police Department report:
At around 1:06 p.m., Rome Police were dispatched to a robbery in progress at the financial institution located inside the West Rome Walmart.
A man matching the description of a suspect in a previous robbery was demanding money and making threats.
Police saw the suspect’s vehicle at the red light at Redmond Circle and Shorter Avenue.
After initiating a U-turn, the suspect ignored the traffic signal and turned east onto Shorter.
The Georgia State Patrol was called in to assist, and a trooper stopped the vehicle using a PIT maneuver.
The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Nicholas Dimetrious Alexander Butts, then fled on foot toward the railroad tracks on Kirton Street before being tased by a Floyd County Police officer.
Butts struck his head on the railroad surface after being tased and was initially taken to the hospital for medical clearance.
Following the foot chase, the suspect’s Dodge Charger rolled forward, striking a Rome Police patrol vehicle causing slight damage to the push bumper.
Several boxes of vapes, taken during the first robbery at North Elm Street Food and Beverage that occurred minutes before the incident at Walmart, were found inside the vehicle.
Butts allegedly went into that store at 204 North Elm Street at around 1 p.m. and threatened to come back with a gun if the clerk did not give him money.
Butts is charged with robbery, fleeing or attempting to elude, DUI, interference with government property, removing or destroying an electronic monitoring device, and a probation violation.
