The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a report of a personal robbery that took place at the “Rest Area”, located on Interstate 475, just south of Zebulon Road. The incident occurred at around 08:39 a.m., Friday morning. According to the complainant, 78 year old John Thigpen of Newport, Tennessee, he was scammed and then robbed by a group of unknown white males.
He stated that a white male approached him as he was standing outside of his camper. The male told Mr. Thigpen that another man had just won the lottery and that he was doubling other people’s money, in a nearby parking lot. Mr. Thigpen stated they he saw a group of men huddled up in the nearby parking lot and decided to see if he could double his own money.
He said that he went into his camper and retrieved a bag of an undisclosed amount of cash from his safe and headed towards the parking lot, where the other men were located. Mr. Thigpen stated that once he met up with the other men, two male suspects grabbed him and a third man grabbed his bag of money and fled the scene on foot. No one was injured during this incident.
One of the suspects was described as a white male, wearing a brown jacket and a ski mask covering his face. No further description was given on the other suspects.
This incident is currently under investigation.
Anyone with information in reference to this incident is urged to contact the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 478-751-7500, or Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.