Robbery at College Station Apartments | News

An investigation into a possible robbery led police to an alleged arranged drug deal that landed one man in the hospital and three in jail.  

Milledgeville Police were called to Oconee Regional Medical Center around 7:12 p.m. Tuesday to speak with a recently admitted patient, claiming to have been injured during a basketball game. 

“Hospital staff advised officers of a young male arriving at the hospital at 4:45 p.m., showing signs of a head injury. According to the staff there, the victim told them that he had gotten injured while playing basketball with friends,” said Maj. Reggie Hill, criminal investigations commander. 

After further discussion, the victim admitted to hospital staff that he had been robbed while visiting a friend at College Station Apartments on North Wilkinson Street. 

After new information regarding a possible robbery was given to police, the case was turned over to Lt. Jim Thompson.  

During an interview with the victim, additional information came to surface. 

“Lt. Thompson was able to determine that this incident may have happened during a narcotics transaction,” Hill said. 

The case was then turned over to Det. Everett January of the investigations division. 

“Detective January arrived on scene and took over the investigation. He quickly learned the name of the person who set up the meeting between the victim and the perpetrators.”

The suspects, Troy Howell Lewis Jr., 18, Daniel Phuoc Nguyan, 20, and Kristian Peter Rigopoulos, 20, were named during January’s interview with the victim. 

“January began tracking down possible locations for the three suspects believed to have been involved in this incident,” Hill said. 

While January searched for the three men, Det. Scott Goodwin executed a search warrant at the victim’s address. 

Once at the apartment, police discovered several items of contraband at the residence — in particular, marijuana and items used to package drugs for sale, Hill said. 

Around 4 a.m., the three suspects were located and arrested. 

“At this time, Nguyan, Rigopoulos and [Troy] Lewis were all charged with robbery and aggravated assault. We expect more charges to be filed in the near future.”

Hill said the timely arrest was the result of collaboration between law enforcement officials. 

“A big thanks goes out to Lt. Thompson and his shift, along with the hard of work of Detectives Goodwin and January. Because of their hard work, this case was quickly solved.”

After further investigation, a fourth arrest was made by police Thursday afternoon.

The victim in the robbery, later identified as Leeon Xie, 18, was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.