Cops: Man drinks beer, steals $17K during armed robbery at Publix

Authorities are searching for a man who allegedly robbed a Publix store in McDonough.

Before a gunman made off with $17,000 at a Publix in McDonough, police said he helped himself to a beer.

The man pretended to shop at the store in the 2100 block of Ga. 20 before holding a store manager at gunpoint and demanding the money, Henry County police told Channel 2 Action News.

Police said the man walked into the store at 9:50 p.m. Friday, just minutes before the store was about to close, Channel 2 reported.

The man, grabbed a shopping cart, perused the aisles and grabbed a beer, which he drank while shopping, police told the news station. Not long into his shopping trip, the man asked to speak to a manager.

Police said the man then pulled a gun on the manager and demanded money from a safe in the store’s back office, Channel 2 reported.

He made off with $17,000 before escaping through a back door near the loading dock, according to the news station.

The opened beer was sent to the GBI with the hopes the suspect’s DNA will be pulled from it, Channel 2 reported.

Anyone with information about the alleged crime is asked to call Henry County police at 770-288-8389.