Good Samaritan follows robber until police catch up

Police say a quick-thinking good Samaritan helped nab a suspected serial armed robber moments after his latest crime.

The good Samaritan, who asked not to be identified, told channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh he went to his local gas station Jan. 8 to get some firewood and showed up moments after the store was robbed. He said it only took him seconds to decide to do something about it.

"The feeling, the look in that young clerk's eyes, it makes you sick to your stomach, especially so close home to home," the good Samaritan said.

The man said his gut instinct was to chase after the robber who had just held up the Chevron station on Hamilton Mill Road.

 "[I asked the clerk], 'Did he have a gun?' He goes, 'Yeah, he put the gun to my chest,' and he was really upset about it," the man said.

Even though he knew the robber had a gun, the man got back in his car and followed the robber down a side street anyway.

"He's not getting away with this," the man said.

He said he wanted to get the man's license plate. But it was rainy and foggy that night, and the suspect was driving fast. Then, he passed officers coming from the other direction.

"I actually hung out the window and [yelled], 'Yo! Yo! Yo!' and they went right by us and I was like, 'OK, it's just you and me,'" the man said.

The good Samaritan said he followed the suspect all the way to the Mall of Georgia, where he watched him park in front of a restaurant. He thinks perhaps the robber was trying to lose him. But that's when he called police.

"[They said], 'Just stay there with him, don't get out of your car,' which there's no way I would have, and they were there in minutes," the man said.

At that point, he watched officers surround the vehicle of a man identified as Jamal Calloway, 21, of Powder Springs.

According to police reports, Calloway may be connected to four other robberies. Investigators haven't said which ones.

"[I asked] 'Is it him? Is it him? Please tell me that it's him,' and they said, 'Well, there's money, there's a hood and there's a gun, so...,'" the man said.

Even after the adrenalin wore off, the good Samaritan said he would do it again.

"They were very grateful. They were like, 'Tell your wife you just caught an armed robber, you know,'" the man said.