An Augusta man who died Thursday after a violent high-speed chase with Augusta cops was let out of prison earlier in the summer, authorities said.
Kenneth Paige, 32, was in a stolen Honda Accord when cops spotted him Thursday night – the same vehicle suspected in a robbery at the Hephzibah Walgreens on Tuesday.
Paige didn’t stop for blue lights and led deputies and state troopers on a chase from Berckmans Road to the 3200 block of Washington Road, where he lost control and hit a tree, Coroner Mark Bowen said. He was unrestrained and died after being ejected.
Officers found a gun and the dead man wearing the same style gloves used in the pharmacy robbery.
Paige spent a decade in prison before being paroled in August – three years before his maximum release date, according to prison records. He was serving a sentence of 15 years for two armed robberies in Cobb County in 2008. He was sentenced in those cases in 2012.
But he’s accused of committing more robberies after getting out, holding up the Walgreens on Tobacco Road in Hephzibah on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the sheriff’s office released a Wanted poster with his image, calling the suspect “armed and dangerous.”
Greg Rickabaugh is the Jail Report contributor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at greg.rickabaugh@theaugustapress.com
