NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Two men in a van who alarmed several women at metro Atlanta shopping centers came forward Wednesday and told police they are repairmen simply looking for work.
Channel 2 Action News looked into reports from several women that they were being followed by two men in a gold van at at least three Krogers and a TJ Maxx in North Fulton County.
The men went to the police station after seeing their van in our newscast claiming that they are self-employed scratch-and-dent repairmen who were looking for work and meeting clients in retail shopping centers.
Police are not filing charges.
New at 6: Despite what police are saying about the men in this van not facing any criminal charges, a local teen has a different account of her encounter with them. Why her mother doesn't buy the men's story. pic.twitter.com/jihRZ8knGA
— Mike Petchenik (@MPetchenikWSB) January 16, 2019
Police earlier believed the two were driving around shopping centers looking to scam people out of thousands of dollars.
“The driver is alone in the van while the other one is walking in the parking lot looking to cause damage to the vehicle, where the other one will come up to you and say, ‘Hey, I can fix this for you,’” said Roswell police spokesperson Lisa Holland.
Channel 2's Mike Petchenik talked to one teenager and her mother, who said they don't believe the men's story.
Last Friday, the Milton teen, who didn't want to be identified, left a TJ Maxx in West Roswell when she says she noticed a man looking at her.
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"Right when I was crossing the street, he crossed at the exact same time, and he wasn't smooth about it," she said.
When she got in her car, she said the man and a passenger boxed her in, but a woman intervened and scared them off.
"If she wouldn't have waited or I wouldn't have asked, I have no idea what that guy would have done," she said.
The woman followed the van and managed to get a picture.
The teen's mother said the men should never have followed her daughter to her car like that.
Police said they have told the men that their actions have caused alarm. There were no reports of criminal activity related to the incidents.
The detective on the case told Channel 2's Mike Petchenik that the department thanks the community for all of their tips and encouraging people to keep their eyes open.
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