Gwinnett Men Report Home Invasion, Get Busted on Drug Charges Instead

On Jan. 26, 2013 two men told police that they were victims of an armed robbery that took place in their unincorporated Snellville home. But they ended up getting arrested on charges of marijuana possession, and for outstanding warrants.

According to Gwinnett County Police, the men, both in their early 20s, told officers to meet them on Donegal Way around 10: 30 p.m. to talk about a robbery that had just occurred in their home on the 3800 block of White Pine Road. 

The victims told police that they ran away from the house to get away from the suspect. One of the victims, who was bleeding from an open head wound, said he was hit in the head by a friend who came to the house looking for money.

The officer requested to go back to the incident scene, so they went back.

On the way there, they told police that they were inside the home when their friend showed up at the door. The younger victim said he knew the suspect and had smoked with him before, so he was allowed inside.

When the suspect entered the house, according to the victim, he began to ask where his money was.

He asked the question repeatedly, but the victim told him he had "no idea what he was talking about." The suspect next produced a gun and pointed it at him. The suspect eventually struck the victim's head.

The suspect ordered both men to stand outside on the back patio while he stole a $400 laptop from the home. The theft kept the suspect distracted, so the victims took the opportunity to jump from the patio, run through the woodline and call police.

They told police that they had no idea why the friend wanted to rob them. 

Officers searched the home for the possibility of other suspects who may still be there. Immediately, they could smell a strong odor of marijuana. They checked the home and found a jar filled with what appeared to be marijuana, plastic bags with marijuana-like residue and a digital scale. There were also loose single-dollar bills in a shoe box nearby.

Initially, the victims said they knew nothing about the marijuana. One of them later changed his story and said it was his, and he was arrested on charges of drug possession.

The other victim was arrested on charges of drug possession, but it turned out he also had outstanding warrants from Cobb County for assault and battery and other drug-related charges.

Officers were familiar with the suspect involved in the armed robbery, so they proceeded to the suspect's last known address off Sandwedge Court in Snellville. They met with his girlfriend, who said he now lives in Tucker. The report does not indicate if they made contact with the suspect, and the Gwinnett County docket book does not list him as a recent arrest.

The victims said the suspect in the home invasion was wearing a dark colored hoodie, had a long barrel revolver, and was driving a black Nissan Maxima.

(Editor's note: the information is based solely on police incident reports provided on request.)

This article originally posted in Snellville Patch.