Note: The following item was provided by the Tallapoosa Circuit District Attorney’s Office for publication. – KtE

POLK COUNTY – On April 19, 2022, a Polk County jury found Lacorrin Lavail Middlebrooks, 41 of Rockmart, guilty of armed robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

The crime arose on October 12, 2019 when Middlebrooks, while wearing a bandana across his face, went into the J&B Food Mart on Cedartown Highway, pointed a handgun at the owner and demanded money. The store’s security cameras filmed the entire robbery.

An anonymous tip led Polk County Investigator Caleb Bowman to Middlebrooks. Though the firearm was not recovered, Investigator Bowman was able to obtain a confession by Middlebrooks during an interview.

Assistant District Attorney Lisa Mason prosecuted the case for the State.

“We are extremely proud of the job Ms. Mason did trying the case and delivering justice to the victim and Polk County. She is the judicial circuit’s most senior ADA and a very experienced trial attorney” stated Chief Assistant District Attorney Jaeson Smith. Middlebrooks was sentenced to 35 years with 20 to serve in prison.

This is the third convenient store armed robbery conviction the District Attorney’s Office has secured in less than ten months.

In September, Brandon Preston pled guilty to armed robbery and sexual assault, involving the Cowboys Store on Highway 278. Preston was sentenced to 40 years and must serve 20 in prison.

Last June, a Polk county jury found Aaron Arrington Guilty of armed robbery, involving the Gulf Station on South Main Street in Cedartown. Arrington was sentenced to life in prison.

All three of these armed robberies took place within a 90 day period between October 2019 and January 2020.

Smith went on to say, “Local businesses are the thread which keeps our communities together. They employ our citizens. They sponsor our ball teams. And they provide goods and services where we need them, here locally. When someone goes into a local business with a gun, demanding hard earned money, we send them to prison – for a long time – period.”