On Tuesday, April 28th just before 5pm, Bainbridge Public Safety officers received a call regarding an armed robbery at The Country Store on Dothan Road. Investigator Mark Esquivel responded to the scene and were told that a black male had entered the store and attempted to purchase a large amount of merchandise, including cigarettes. While standing at the counter, the male subject showed a gun to the store clerk, and then jumped over the counter. He snatched a money box containing approximately $700 and merchandise valued at approximately $200 and fled from the building. He was seen getting into a white SUV.
Investigator Esquivel contacted Investigator Chris Jordan about the incident and Jordan stated that the week prior, a black male had entered the Bainbridge Express convenience store, also located on Dothan Road, and attempted to purchase a large amount of cigarettes. When the card he attempted to use for payment was declined, he grabbed the cigarettes and fled from the store. Investigator Jordan later learned that the burgundy SUV the male subject was driving during the theft had been stolen out of Tallahassee. Investigators Esquivel and Jordan compared video footage from both scenes and determined that it appeared to be the same male subject who was responsible for both incidents.
During the investigation, Esquivel learned from the Cairo Police Department that on the evening of April 27th, a similar incident had occurred in Cairo which involved the theft of a large quantity of cigarettes from a convenience store by a black male subject. The male involved was driving a white SUV that they discovered had been stolen out of Tallahassee. Investigator Esquivel viewed video footage from the Cairo theft and determined that it appeared to be the same person who was involved in both of the Bainbridge incidents.
On Wednesday, April 29th just before 3:30pm, Investigator Esquivel received a call from the Cairo Police Department notifying him that an officer had just located the white SUV used in the Cairo robbery and believed to be the same vehicle involved in the armed robbery at The Country Store in Bainbridge. Cairo police officers were currently in pursuit of the white SUV which had fled a traffic stop. The driver of the SUV led Cairo police and Grady County Sheriff’s deputies through Cairo and then headed southbound towards the Georgia/Florida line. At one point, the driver, later identified as Antonio Monterious Deyounks, hit a Grady County patrol vehicle. The chase ended in Florida just over the state line at the intersection of Concord and Barber Roads. Deyounks exited the driver side of the vehicle and fled on foot. After a brief foot chase, Grady County deputies and Cairo police officers apprehended Deyounks. He was found to be in possession of a firearm.
Investigator Esquivel arrived on scene and made contact with a passenger in the SUV, identified as Jonathan Ceasor. Deyounks and Ceasor were handcuffed and transported to Bainbridge Public Safety where they were interviewed by Investigators. During the interview of Ceasor, he admitted to stealing the burgundy SUV from a location in Tallahassee and used it in the Bainbridge Express theft. He told Investigator Esquivel where the vehicle could be located. He also admitted to stealing the white SUV from a Tallahassee location and using it to travel to Cairo to commit the theft on April 27th, as well as the armed robbery of The Country Store in Bainbridge on April 28th. Ceasor also admitted to committing multiples thefts in Florida.
Following the interview with Jonathan Ceasor, Investigator Esquivel interviewed Antonio Deyounks. Deyounks told Esquivel that Ceasor was his cousin, and that they drove together to The Country Store where Ceasor robbed the business at gunpoint on April 28th. Both men were also interviewed by Tallahassee Police Investigators and Leon County Sheriff’s Department Investigators.
Jonathan Ceasor, 33, of Tallahassee was booked by Bainbridge Public Safety and charged with Armed Robbery (Felony), Robbery by Sudden Snatching (Felony), and Bringing Stolen Property Into the State.
Antonio Monterious Deyounks, 30, of Tallahassee was booked by Bainbridge Public Safety and charged with Armed Robbery (Felony).
Additional charges for both men are pending through the Cairo Police Department, Grady County Sheriff’s Department, Tallahassee Police Department, and the Leon County Sheriff’s Department.
