Crowd chases man into woods after Suffolk restaurant robbery

SUFFOLK

Nobody had to ask for volunteers for the posse that hot-footed behind a robber on Saturday morning. Employees of the local Taco Bell joined in when they saw their manager give chase. Then, a business owner on his motorcycle and several citizens on foot trailed behind.

The scene played out about 9:30 a.m. on busy North Main Street. The fast-food restaurant's manager had stopped by to pick up a bank deposit. She was robbed at gunpoint almost as soon as she had her hands on the money.

The robber pulled the trigger, but his gun didn't fire, said police spokeswoman Lt. Debbie George. That's when he took off, toward the woods behind the shopping center.

And the line of pursuers - between eight and 12 people - took off behind him. The manager was in her car, calling police on her cell phone as she went.

Once police arrived, the robber was able to evade them for about 45 minutes, but when he attempted to leave the woods, he was spotted again. A detective and a K-9 officer brought the man to his heels.

Police identified the suspect as Deon Gatling, who swore he'd done nothing wrong, police said.

Lying in a ravine, however, Gatling wasn't able to hide a Taco Bell bag full of cash that police said was near his feet.

Gatling, 19, of Sunbury, N.C., had previously worked for the Suffolk restaurant for about three years, George said. He left there almost a year ago.

Capt. Stephanie Burch, head of the Suffolk Police Criminal Investigations Section, praised the citizens' willingness to get involved.

The situation, however, could have been dangerous, she said.

"This particular suspect was reported to have a firearm, and we would never want to have our citizens injured trying to assist us," Burch said.

The handgun was recovered in the restaurant's parking lot, police said.

Gatling was charged with armed robbery, attempted malicious wounding and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He's being held at Western Tidewater Regional Jail.

Linda McNatt, (757) 222-5561, linda.mcnatt@pilotonline.com