Dalton woman wanted in attempted armed robbery case

Samantha Sanford

Photo by Contributed Photo /Chattanooga Times Free Press.

A Dalton, Ga., woman is wanted in connection with an armed robbery at a man’s apartment complex in June during which two men tried to impersonate an officer.

Samantha Sanford, 26, has warrants for aggravated assault, attempted armed robbery, burglary, and conspiracy to commit a felony, Dalton Police Department spokesman Bruce Frazier said in a news release.

Police believe Sanford was part of a plot to rob a man who lived at the McGhee Place Apartment by pretending to be officers so the man would open the door, Frazier said. Sanford used to live at the apartment and she also had a romantic relationship with the man, Frazier said.

Two men also were involved in the plot, police said. Lavalis Sentell Ward, 29, was identified as one of the men who robbed the apartment and he was arrested on July 8, Frazier said. Another man is being investigated but no arrest has been made, he said.

On June 19, at 2:45 a.m., the two men knocked on the door and yelled “sheriff’s department,” Frazier said. But when the owner didn’t open and instead ran around the building, Ward followed him with a gun, he said. Ward then went inside the apartment.

When the man tried to leave his apartment with his daughter, he was hit on the head with the gun, Frazier said.

Anyone with information on Sanford’s whereabouts or any other information on the case is asked to call Detective Greg Bates at 706-278-9085, extension 137.