Rock Hill hotel robbery suspects arrested in Georgia

Two people accused in the armed robbery of a Rock Hill hotel were arrested in Georgia and face charges from at least two law enforcement agencies, according to authorities.

Johnathan Randy Fesperman and Taylor McNamara, both 19 and from Rock Hill, were arrested Friday night at a hotel in Augusta, Ga., according to Lt. Allan Rollins of the Richmond County, Ga., Sheriff’s Office. The two were wanted for the armed robbery of the Quality Inn & Suites on Cherry Road in Rock Hill early Thursday.

Rollins said they received information from the Rock Hill Police Department that the two were in the Augusta area and possibly driving a stolen vehicle. Officers from Rock Hill and Richmond County, along with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, tracked down the vehicle at a hotel.

“When they started to drive off in the stolen automobile, they were pulled over and surrendered,” Rollins said.

The vehicle had been reported stolen to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department on Thursday, and the gun was reported stolen to the York County Sheriff’s Office on Friday, Rollins said.

Fesperman, who is a convicted felon, faces charges in Richmond County of possession of a weapon during a crime, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two counts of theft by receiving stolen property, Rollins said. McNamara was charged with theft by receiving stolen property. Both remained jailed in the Richmond County detention center Tuesday.

Fesperman and McNamara will be charged in Rock Hill with armed robbery, and additional charges are pending, according to Capt. Mark Bollinger of the Rock Hill Police Department.

The clerk at the Quality Inn told officers Fesperman entered the hotel just after midnight Friday and asked for the price of a room. He left and returned minutes later with a black handgun and demanded money from the clerk.

Fesperman fled on foot after taking an undisclosed amount of money from the tray, police said.

Just minutes before, a young woman police identified as McNamara entered the lobby asking for prices as well. She left in an unknown vehicle before the robbery occurred. Investigators initially weren’t sure if she was involved, but Bollinger said they later determined she was an accomplice.

Rollins said the two also were wanted for questioning in an armed robbery in nearby McDuffie County, Ga. Additional information about that incident was not available.

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Rock Hill hotel robbery suspects arrested in Georgia."