Police Investigating If Man Stopped On I-75 Was Robbery Suspect

MARIETTA, GA -- Police are continuing to investigate whether the man pulled over last week who caused a massive SWAT standoff on a Cobb interstate is actually a suspect in a related armed robbery. Taylor Alexander Smith-Duffy was arrested on Friday after being pulled over on I-75 at Windy Hill Road because police believed he and his vehicle matched descriptions of a man who robbed a nearby Walmart earlier in the day. Smith-Duffy refused to come out of his vehicle after being pulled over, sparking a SWAT standoff that shut down the major Atlanta interstate for more than an hour.

On Monday, police said Smith-Duffy is still a person of interest and detectives are still conducting their investigation to make a determination if he was involved in the robbery.

Around 8:30 am Friday, Marietta police responded to the Walmart at 210 Cobb Parkway South in response to an armed robbery that occurred at the customer service desk inside of the business. Police said the suspect fled the scene prior to officers arriving. Officers met with the victim along with Walmart security personnel and began reviewing video footage and obtained a description of the male suspect and learned he'd fled the scene in a grey Honda Civic.

Read more: One In Custody After Police Standoff On I-75 At Windy Hill

A short time later, a Marietta police officer located a vehicle fitting the description and determined the male driver matched the suspect's description. The officer conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle on I-75 south. The driver eventually pulled over to the right shoulder just south of Windy Hill Road.

Police, believing the driver might be armed, did not approach the vehicle but told the driver to get out of the car. The driver refused, and police diverted all southbound interstate traffic onto Windy Hill Road as a precaution.

For more than an hour, negotiators spoke with the suspect, but eventually, SWAT officers took the driver into custody.