By BETH ALSTON
beth.alston@gaflnewscom
americustimesrecorder.com

AMERICUS — Authorities are looking for a suspect in several robberies of local businesses last weekend.
According to a press release from the Americus Police Department, warrants have been issued for the arrest of Ricky Lee Ford, 35, in connection with an ongoing investigation into the robberies of Family Dollar, 1202 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.; Dollar General, 805 Adderton St.; and Chevron Food Mart, 1301 E. Lamar St., all in Americus. All three robberies occurred over the weekend of Oct. 10-11.
Ford is wanted on one count of armed robbery, two counts of robbery by sudden snatching, three counts of aggravated assault and one count of motor vehicle theft. He is being sought by law enforcement agencies throughout South Georgia.
In the Dollar General and Chevron Food Mart incidents, the suspect snatched cash from customers before fleeing, according to authorities. In the Family Dollar incident, the suspect wielded a gun and demanded money. That weapon has been recovered, according to police.
The vehicle that Ford is accused of stealing Oct. 2 in Americus has been  recovered in Albany, police said.
Police have recovered the gun used in the Oct. 8 armed robbery of Flash Foods, 1533 S. Lee St., Americus. At 3:28 a.m., an armed man entered the store with a gun and demanded money. Police described the suspect as a black male in his late teens or early 20s, less than 6’ tall with a slender build. He was wearing gray jeans, a gray hoodie and a red plastic face mask. The suspect took an undetermined amount of cash from the register and left the store on foot, heading north. Police also have recovered some of the stolen cash in that case.
“Now that we’ve recovered the weapon and some of the money, we’re confident we will make an arrest soon,” said Maj. Richard McCorkle, who heads the investigative division of the Americus Police Department.