GREENSBORO, N.C. — An arrest has been made in connection to two Sheetz carjackings in Greensboro, police say.
Greensboro police said the first carjacking happened at the New Garden Road Sheetz on Dec. 6. at 7:40 a.m. Then the second carjacking was reported at the Sheetz on West Wendover Avenue about an hour later.
Police said 24-year-old Dionysus Thomas has been charged with two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon.
Thomas was arrested in Winston-Salem one day after the carjackings in Greensboro. Police said they found him driving a stolen Honda Civic and when officers tried to pull him over, he crashed into the back of a nearby car. Police said he threw out a gun and tried to run away, but officers were able to arrest him. Police later connected him to the carjackings in Greensboro.
Thomas is in jail in Forsyth County. His bond was increased to $100,000 after police served him warrants for the Greensboro carjackings. He has a court date of Jan. 4 in Forsyth County.
The carjackings
A 911 caller who reported the West Wendover Sheetz carjacking said he saw three suspects.
"Three guys got out at gunpoint and stole a car from [someone] at the gas station," the caller said. "There were three handguns. They put it to the guy's head and he didn't know what was going on."
The victim of the New Garden Sheetz carjacking said he also encountered three suspects.
"I started to defend myself against two of them and still swinging at one of them. Then, a second later, a car pulled up right outside my car and a guy jumped out with a gun, pointing it at my face. He told me to back off. So then, I called the cops," he added.
WFMY News 2 reached out to Sheetz following the carjackings. In a statement, the organization said they take matters like this seriously.
"The safety of our customers and employees at Sheetz is a top priority in every community we serve. Each store is monitored by numerous video cameras both inside and outside the store and we have a number of safeguards in place which allow our employees to notify local officials as soon as an emergency situation develops. We will continue to work with the police department on this matter and will continue doing whatever we can to assist with this investigation." - Nick Ruffner Sheetz PR manager
Digging into the suspect's background
Court records show Thomas has a history of crime in Forsyth County.
In 2016, he was charged with misdemeanor simple affray.
In 2017, he was charged with felony robbery with a dangerous weapon. He pleaded guilty to this and was convicted. He was also charged and convicted of misdemeanor resisting arrest by a public officer.
In 2021, he was charged and convicted of felony breaking and entering a motor vehicle and simple assault.
The investigation is ongoing
Anyone with information about the carjackings is asked to contact Greensboro/Guilford Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000. Citizens can also download the mobile P3tips app for Apple or Android phones to submit a mobile tip, or go to P3tips.com to submit a web tip. All tips to Crime Stoppers are completely anonymous.
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