1 nabbed, 1 sought in F‘ville kidnap, robbery

A person who purports to be the man robbed and kidnapped Monday near the busy Fayetteville intersection of Ga. highways 85 and 314 apparently tells his own story in a remarkable comment in The Citizen’s online edition.

Below are his comments, edited for clarity and punctuation (his original comment is among the comments below this story).

“... [W]hen I walked out of the store, the 2 guys approached me with a pistol to my head. One told me to turn around or else he’d kill me. The other grabbed my cell phone. Then they put me in the trunk and took my keys. Then they pulled off,” the blogger “carjackedinfayette” writes in the Comments section below.

“... [T]he gunman who was caught, was driving the Monte Carlo (not an Impala). Then, near Chick-fil-A the Monte Carlo rear-ended a vehicle at one of those stoplights.

“That’s when I released the trunk latch and ran as fast as I possibly could to the next car, praying a bullet wasn’t going to be following me.

“All in all, God was looking after me. After the trunk door shut when I got into it, I closed my eyes and prayed to God to let me out of that trunk alive. When I opened my eyes, staring right back at me was the emergency release latch with a picture of a person jumping out of a trunk and running away.

“Next I prayed for opportunity. That’s when the wreck occurred.

“Be proud of your law enforcement agencies over there. They acted extremely fast on what little information they had. If they had known that my Tahoe was stolen during all of that, then the second guy would’ve gotten caught, too. But there was no way to know that until we went back to the gas station.

“And by the way, the vehicle the Monte Carlo rear-ended — it was MY Tahoe! Too bad I didn’t know it at the time.”

“carjackedinfayette” goes on to respond to other commenters about the need for carrying protection against such incidents.

“As far as myself packing heat, unfortunately, I am a convicted felon myself. But I did my time, got saved, got married, I have three dogs, a beautiful wife, a good job, and enough sense to abide by the law and not carry a pistol.

He downplayed any discussions about the race of the suspects. “I’ve been to prison, and yes, prison is majority black, and of all those blacks, most are from the surrounding metro areas. However, they do not have to be products of their environment. It is mostly a longer and harder battle for those from lower income families. It’s easy to lose focus on what’s right and wrong when it comes to feeding your family or yourself.

“That’s why, when I got home Monday night with my wife, and we were laying in bed, we began to pray, and the first thing I prayed for were those two guys and whoever else was involved, their families included.

“Because I know what I put myself and my family through when I made the mistakes I made. I don’t live in Fayetteville, but I do know it’s not the most dangerous town around. And everybody I know can’t believe my story when I tell them that’s where it happened. I can tell you this though: in the end, the criminals will always outnumber the law enforcement.”

The victim has not been identified by name in police reports, and The Citizen has no independent verification to confirm this commenter’s story.

[The original news story follows:]

One suspect is in custody and one is still on the loose after an armed robbery and kidnapping Monday afternoon at one of Fayetteville’s busiest intersections.

Travion Marquez Willis, 17, of Riverdale, is being held on various felony charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery.

Arrest warrants have been taken out for Christopher Deangelo Wakefield, 22, whose last known address was Riverdale.

Fayetteville police said a vendor leaving the Village Market at 765 North Glynn Street was approached by two black males Monday afternoon. The men pointed a gun at the vendor, took his keys and cell phone, then ordered him into the trunk of their car, a Silver Chevy Impala.

The men then drove off in both their car and the vendor’s vehicle, a Chevy Tahoe. When the car stopped at a traffic light, the vendor pulled the emergency trunk release and jumped out of the car. He ran to a passerby’s car and she let him in her car, police said. They drove to the area of PetSmart where the victim called 911 on the passerby’s cell phone.

According to the police, after the victim got out of the car the two suspects fled the area. The driver of the Impala wrecked the car on Pine Trail in Fayetteville, a residential road east of the Fayette Pavilion. A citizen witnessed the wreck and called 911, officials said.

Officers responding to the wreck found both the Impala and the Tahoe. Both of the offenders fled the area on foot.

The Fayetteville Police Department and Fayette County Sheriff’s Department with the assistance of the county K-9 unit and helicopter unit began a search for the two men.

Willis was found and arrested in the area of Corinth Road. He has been charged with aggravated assault, armed robbery, kidnapping, theft of a motor vehicle, and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Still on the run, Wakefield is being charged with aggravated assault, armed robbery, kidnapping, theft of a motor vehicle, and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

The Fayetteville Police Department is asking that if you have any information about the robbery or location of Wakefield to contact the department at 770-461-4441. Wakefield should be considered armed and dangerous.