Athens woman arrested in SouthState Bank robbery

By Shawn Jarrard
Updated 10/10/2024

The Blairsville Police Department and Union County Sheriff’s Office had an Athens woman in handcuffs within minutes of being dispatched to a robbery at SouthState Bank on Monday, Sept. 9, according to authorities.

No one was injured in the incident, and the suspect, Alia Ghosheh, 45, did not have any weapons on her person or in her vehicle, according to authorities. Likewise, no explosives were found in her possession, and she is believed to have acted alone.

As a precaution, the GBI Bomb Disposal Unit responded to investigate a duffle bag Ghosheh lobbed behind the bank counter – potentially to be filled with money or as an intimidation tactic – and GBI confirmed with a remote-controlled bomb robot that the bag did not contain explosives.

The alarming episode unfolded quickly Monday when Ghosheh parked her car outside the bank just after noon, entered with the duffle bag, and allegedly demanded that employees “give me all your money.”

According to witnesses, Ghosheh yelled multiple other things as well, including “Death to America,” “Free Palestine” and “Allah.” Her mental state at the time and her motives in attaching such statements to the alleged robbery remained unclear Tuesday morning.

SouthState employees wasted no time in activating a panic alarm, evacuating the building and calling 911, leaving Ghosheh alone in the lobby with law enforcement on its way, according to authorities. It does not appear there were any customers in the bank when the robbery transpired.

Blairsville Assistant Police Chief Shawn Dyer happened to be nearby when E-911 dispatched the panic alarm at 12:06 p.m. He and a sheriff’s deputy arrived in under two minutes, immediately walked in and arrested Ghosheh, who was standing in the middle of the bank lobby, according to authorities.

The bank remained cordoned off with police tape until the scene was finally cleared at about 8 p.m. Monday.

Ghosheh’s movements leading up to the apparent robbery attempt were unknown at press time, as were any connections she may have to Union County or why she chose to target the SouthState Bank branch in Blairsville, a two-hour drive from her residence in Athens.

GBI has taken over the investigation and is expected to bring charges soon related to robbery along with issuing a statement on the incident.

A mugshot was not available the morning after Ghosheh’s arrest because she was reportedly being uncooperative at the Union County Jail. She is being charged only and is presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.

“This was a quick response time, and the employees did everything they were supposed to do,” Blairsville Police Chief Michael “Bear” Baxter said Tuesday. “Thankfully, the individual was apprehended still on the scene.”

Added Baxter, “Nobody was injured, and it was a win-win for us and the bank with basically an immediate takedown of the suspect.”

Law enforcement agencies from Hall, Forsyth and Habersham counties also responded to the bank, including multiple K-9 bomb-sniffing teams, and the Union County Fire Department and Union General EMS were on standby throughout the incident in case they were needed.

“I’m just really pleased with the response of all the agencies,” Assistant Police Chief Dyer said. “I really think this is a freak thing that happened out of the middle of nowhere – could happen anywhere. Luckily, we were prepared to handle it.”

Dyer was quick to shut down online speculation about whether the alleged robbery had anything to do with the recent spate of school shooting threats making their way around North Georgia and beyond, as SouthState Bank is just a short drive from Union County Schools.

“This has nothing to do with any of the issues going on in our school systems (related to shooting threats since the Sept. 4 tragedy in Winder),” Dyer said. “Unless we come up with something later on, we’re pretty sure this was an isolated incident that just happened at the wrong time.”

Added Dyer, “If somebody does send (a school shooting threat) and we find out who it is, they are going to jail; I don’t care who they are or what their status is, they’re going to jail. We’re not going to put up with that.”