Armed robbery report leads to arrests

From left, Jamaurice Shundre Lee, Michael Blake Thornley, Christopher Dantonio Young

An armed robbery reported early Friday afternoon led to the arrests for three Gray Court men on various other charges by the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office.

While on the scene of the reported incident on Sawmill Road in Gray Court, deputies said they detected the strong smell of marijuana coming from the residence and obtained a warrant to search the property. During the search, deputies found and seized marijuana, a loaded AK-47 assault rifle, a loaded Taurus PT111 handgun, Xanax pills without a prescription, several boxes of ammunition and several counterfeit $100 bills.

Michael Blake Thornley, who lives at the Sawmill Road residence, was charged with possession of a Schedule IV narcotic. Jamaurice Shundre Lee is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, and Christopher Dantonio Young was charged with possession of a Schedule II narcotic.

The suspect in the armed robbery returned the stolen items, and the robbery victim dropped the charges.