Charges dropped against 2 suspects in Augusta County ATM robbery that wasn't a robbery
STAUNTON — It was the afternoon of Oct. 2 when a woman phoned authorities claiming she'd just been robbed by a man in a mask while attempting to withdraw cash from a Fishersville ATM, where she said the man reached in through her window and took off with $280.
With the woman in hot pursuit of her alleged assailant, she gave deputies his location, a tag number and a vehicle description. The suspect's vehicle was eventually spotted eastbound on Interstate 64. After exiting in Fishersville, several deputies stopped the vehicle at the intersection of Goose Creek and Tinkling Spring roads, the Augusta County Sheriff's Office said at the time.
The driver, still wearing a black face mask, was identified as Michael A. Grigsby Jr., 28, of Stuarts Draft. He was charged with robbery and wearing a mask in a public place, both felonies. An 18-year-old passenger, Wesley A. Martin-Quick of Staunton, was also charged with robbery.
Augusta County Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Kyle Powers said when Grigsby was pulled over, besides still wearing the mask, he also had the exact amount of money inside a DuPont Community Credit Union envelope that the woman claimed was stolen from her. A pill bottle labeled "oxycodone" was seized, but Powers noted it actually contained three baby aspirin.
As it turns out there was no robbery at all, just a drug deal gone bad.
Powers said Grigsby, who was cooperative with authorities, denied being involved in a robbery and said he told investigators that online conversations through Snapchat would show it was indeed a planned drug deal.
Powers said a search warrant for the Snapchat conversations obtained by the Augusta County Sheriff's Office revealed Grigsby was involved in a drug deal with the woman. The prosecutor also noted video surveillance obtained by the sheriff's office showed the woman making an ATM withdrawal in Fishersville without incident, and said footage from a nearby business showed Grigsby and the woman sitting in a vehicle together eating food at a Fishersville plaza before he quickly fled the area.
Last month in Augusta County General District Court, the felony charges against Grigsby and Martin-Quick were not prosecuted, ending the cases, court records show.
No additional charges were filed.
Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter).
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Charges dropped in Augusta County ATM robbery case
