Roswell teen says aggressive panhandler followed him home from grocery store

ROSWELL, Ga. — A Roswell teenager is warning others to be careful after a scary experience in a grocery store parking lot.

Tyler Lambdin told Channel 2′s Mike Petchenik he was shopping Sept. 4th on East Crossville Road when a man pulled up alongside him.

“He begins asking me where the churches in the area are so I start telling him where those are,” Lambdin said.

That’s when he said the man asked to sell him stereo equipment.

“I told him I can’t give him any money because I don’t have any,” he said. “I just have the money for my groceries.”

Lambdin said when he came back to his car after shopping, the man was still there asking for money.

“Then he says he is gonna follow me home, which I was not OK with,” he said. “He tries to get in my car. I tell him I don’t want him in my car.”

TRENDING STORIES

• Police arrest driver accused of killing construction worker on I-75 in hit-and-run
• Falcons, Atlanta United allowing limited number of fans at games in October
• Experts say language barrier among reasons Latinx community is most impacted by COVID-19 in state

Roswell police say when Lambdin drove off, the man followed him in his car back to his home up the street.

“When I get here the guy is right behind me,” he said. “He drives by my house because he sees my dad in the driveway.”

Police said they were able to find some grainy surveillance video showing the encounter, but they told Petchenik it wasn’t clear enough to identify the suspect.

“We have very little information to go off of,” said Officer Sean Thompson.

Thompson said police are warning people in the area off East Crossville and Houze Roads to be careful and to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

“If you ever are approached by someone being aggressive in this manner, trying to panhandle, trying to get money from you, you can always call us,” he said. “In Roswell we have ordinances against aggressive panhandling.”

Barricaded gunman taken into custody after 7-hour standoff

Cox Media Group