ATHENS, Ga. — Athens-Clarke County police arrested a homeless man accused of kidnapping a 19-year-old woman from her job and sexually assaulting her over the weekend.
According to investigators, Melvin Allison, 51, entered the Golden Pantry on Tallassee Road during closing Saturday night.
The female clerk told police this was not her first encounter with Allison. She said he frequently hung out in the parking of the store and earlier that night she had told him to leave the store if he wasn’t buying anything.
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Just after she turned off the lights on Saturday night, she says Allison rushed inside and told her he had a gun. Police said Allison then stole several items from the business and sexually assaulted the clerk.
According to the police report, Allison then threatened the woman’s life and forced her to call a Lyft from her phone before taking it from her. They drove around to multiple locations before ending up at a hotel, where he held the woman against her will.
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The victim told officers that when Allison took her to the parking lot to buy drugs, she took off, ran back inside, locked herself in the room and called 911.
Once police arrived, the victim told them she had an iPhone and that Allison had taken it. Officers were able to ping the phone, which they heard ringing inside a nearby dumpster. When officers lifted the lid, they found Allison lying under bags of trash.
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Allison was arrested and charged with armed robbery, kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated sodomy, sexual battery and battery.
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