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Police say they arrested three men Thursday and detained one woman as part of an investigation into a series of shootings, armed robberies, automobile thefts and gun discharges in Savannah.
Geovanni Fredrick Williams, 24, and Bernard William Green, 28, were arrested when Central Precinct Tactical Investigation Unit and SWAT officers stopped their vehicle on Cubbage Street in the Carver Village Neighborhood Thursday afternoon, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman.
A 22-year-old woman who also was in the vehicle was detained. A relative of the woman, Eric Lakeem Lawrence, 23, was arrested when he tried to approach a car in which she was detained and fought with metro police and federal officers who tried to stop him, Miller said.
All three of the suspects live in an apartment in the Fred Wessels Homes on the 600 block of East Liberty Street.
Williams has been charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Green, who was released from prison two weeks ago, was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and violation of parole. Lawrence is being held on two counts of obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
The men remain in custody as police investigate multiple cases in the area, Miller said.
Tactical Investigation and SWAT officers had warrants for Williams and a search warrant for his residence when an undercover officer noticed them in a vehicle Thursday afternoon. The vehicle was stopped and a weapon recovered. The search warrant was being served on the residence afterward when Lawrence intervened, Miller said. Another weapon was found in the apartment.
The aggravated assault charge against Williams stems from a Sept. 2 shooting at West 34th and Montgomery streets. A 39-year-old man was treated for non-life-threatening wounds after the 11:51 p.m. shooting.
Williams also was charged with possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and providing a false name to police on Sept. 18 when Islands Precinct Patrol officers heard shots being fired and stopped an SUV with multiple occupants, Miller said. A weapon with an extra ammunition magazine was found in the vehicle and Williams gave false information when questioned by the officers, Miller said. The weapon had been reported stolen from Williams’ apartment in a burglary in September.
Officers also recovered a stolen pickup truck near the traffic stop on the SUV that night and have tied it into the investigation.
Williams also was being sought for questioning in the July 18 shooting of a woman in the 700 block of West 35th Street when he was pursued into a house where a 10-month-old baby had been left sleeping on July 28, Miller said. SWAT officers surrounded the house but not before he had escaped from a back window, Miller said. The baby and her mother were unharmed.
Tactical Investigation and violent crimes detectives as well as ATF agents are continuing to investigate and anticipate additional charges, Miller said.