A familiar suspect has been arrested in connection with the July 10 robbery at Wendy’s restaurant in Fort Mill as well as five other area robberies, authorities said.
Travis Lamont Gathers, 50, of Rock Hill, was arrested Monday night at an apartment complex in Lake Wylie. He is suspected of six armed robberies, including two in the City of Rock Hill and four in the county’s jurisdiction, according to sheriff’s PIO Trent Faris.
Gathers is the same man who has been repeatedly arrested for armed robberies, theft, possession of stolen guns and drug dealing over the last four years, only to have prosecutors – or a jury, in one case – let him off the hook. At least a dozen felony cases or more have simply been dismissed against the suspect by prosecutors, according to online court records. (Story continues below)
In the latest accusations, authorities say Gathers began a robbery spree on June 28 by robbing the BoJangles near the 4900 block of Charlotte Highway in the Lake Wylie area of Clover. The armed suspect robbed the business of money, robbed employees of their cell phones, and then made the employees get into the walk-in cooler before he ran out of the restaurant.
On July 10, Gathers allegedly robbed the Wendy’s restaurant at 1800 Highway 160 in Fort Mill, SC. On July 12, he robbed the Wendy’s restaurant at 5188 Charlotte Highway in Lake Wylie.
In these cases, witnesses say he used a gun to commit the robberies. Lastly, on July 19th Gathers, using a knife, to rob the McDonalds restaurant at 5262 Charlotte Highway in Lake Wylie.
In total, Gathers stole $6,350 from the restaurants.