COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A man who deputies say was kidnapped in Atlanta and taken down to Coweta County is safe after swift action by a bank teller.
Coweta County sheriff’s deputies say that a man walked into the Wells Fargo bank on Amlajack Blvd. last week and slid a note to the teller that read “keep me safe.”
Deputies came to the bank and found two men in a car matching a description given by the victim. They tried to drive away, but were stopped at the intersection of Amlajack Blvd. and Hwy. 34.
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The victim told investigators that two men, later identified as Gabriel Lawrence and Terrence McPherson, picked him up in Atlanta and asked if he wanted to make a couple hundred dollars.
The man then got into the car and the group drove around Atlanta while Lawrence and McPherson made several phone calls.
The victim told deputies that he tried to get out of the car twice, but could not because of child locks on the doors.
Lawrence and McPherson then drove to Newnan and stopped at a Race Trac convenience store. Lawrence went inside and came back out with a check for $1,467 he gave to the victim.
The man was meant to go into the bank, cash the check, come back outside and give a signal so they know he got the cash.
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Body camera video shows the moments deputies stop Lawrence and McPherson. McPherson, who was the passenger of the car, can be seen with crutches in the car.
Deputies found two guns inside of the car, one of which had been reported stolen in Atlanta.
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Lawrence was charged with false imprisonment, kidnapping, forgery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
McPherson was charged with false imprisonment, kidnapping, forgery, theft by receiving stolen property, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Both are being held in the Coweta County Jail.
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