photo by: Journal-World File Photo

Lawrence Police Department

A Georgia man has been arrested and charged in connection with two back-to-back armed robberies in February, in which at least one suspect reportedly wore a scary mask.

Lawrence police say they believe the same man was also involved in other robbery attempts that day that weren’t previously reported to police.

True J. Shipley, 20, of Covington, Georgia, was arrested Friday night and made his first appearance on the charges Monday in Douglas County District Court, according to jail and court records.

Shipley is charged with five counts of aggravated robbery while armed with a gun and two counts of aggravated burglary, all felonies, for crimes that occurred Feb. 20 in the 2000 block of West Sixth Street and the 3100 block of Ousdahl Road, according to the charges. He’s also charged with two counts of misdemeanor theft, for allegedly stealing music production equipment from the people in one home, and cell phones, an Xbox controller and “coins” from the other.

The Journal-World previously reported that the police said they suspected the robberies — which occurred about 20 minutes apart — stemmed from drug activity. Police later requested tips from the public and shared more information, including a photo of a smiling mask from the horror movie “The Purge” that one of the two suspects allegedly wore.

On February 20, two males, one slender black male with earrings, and one chubby white male, used this car (likely a grey Nissan), and wore this purge mask to rob 2 apartments. If you have any info about these crimes, please let us know. pic.twitter.com/5mU7iL8uC8

— Lawrence Police (@LawrenceKS_PD) March 7, 2018

On Tuesday, in announcing Shipley’s arrest, police said they continue to seek information about the robberies and other related crimes.

“During the course of the investigation, it was also discovered that this individual was allegedly involved in three other attempted aggravated robberies that had not been previously reported to police,” the Lawrence Police Department news release said. “The investigation into all of these incidents is ongoing, and a connection between these robberies and other crimes in the Lawrence area has not been ruled out.”

The other three attempted robberies allegedly involving Shipley also occurred Feb. 20, Officer Drew Fennelly said.

No other arrests have been made, Fennelly said. He said that while drug activity has not been ruled out as a factor, he couldn’t comment further on that this week because of the ongoing investigation.

Police ask anyone with information to call them at 785-832-7509 or, to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers of Lawrence and Douglas County at 785-843-TIPS (8477).

Shipley’s bond was set at $125,000, jail records indicate. He remained in jail Tuesday.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office declined to release Shipley’s mugshot to the Journal-World.