Marietta Police said license-plate reader technology helped identify the suspect of a kidnapping and carjacking last week at a grocery store in the Delk-Powers Ferry area of East Cobb.
Randy Harmon, 34, of Meadowlawn Lane off Powers Ferry Road, was arrested Dec. 6 after police said he used a gun to force a woman into her vehicle shortly after 9 a.m. that day at the Kroger at 1120 Powers Ferry Road after she had been shopping there.
According to an arrest warrant, Harmon pushed Tomeka Harris into the front passenger seat of her Nissan Sentra. She fought him for the gun as he tried to speed away from the Kroger, driving her car.
The warrant said that Harris then managed to open the passenger door and was thrown from the car, suffering injuries to both of her knees.
Police began searching for the stolen vehicle, and Cobb officers later found the Sentra parked in a subdivision with Harris’ belongings still inside, according to a statement Wednesday issued by Marietta Police.
(The Kroger, which will be replaced by a Kroger Superstore at the MarketPlace at Terrell Mill center, is located in Marietta city limits.)
A few hours later on Dec. 6, at around 2:30 p.m., Cobb officers found another stolen vehicle in the Cumberland Mall area and arrested the driver, identified as Harmon, for possession of a stolen vehicle and other traffic offenses, according to a separate warrant.
According to his booking report at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, Harmon was arrested at 3101 Cobb Parkway SE. The arrest warrant said the vehicle he was driving, a 2016 Hyundai Accent, was the same vehicle he drove to the Kroger store that morning.
He has been charged with kidnapping, hijacking a motor vehicle, aggravated assault and for firearms violations, as well as for driving without a license or insurance.
Harmon also is facing charges of receiving stolen property, financial transaction card theft and failure to appear in court.
He is being held without bond, according to the booking report.
Marietta Police Chief Martin Ferrell praised Harris “for her determination, courage, and resilience in the face of danger” and said he was grateful she’s safe and that her property was recovered.
“The interagency collaboration as well as investment the city and surrounding jurisdictions have made in LPR cameras definitely aided in our ability to hold this criminal accountable!” he said.
Related:
- Cobb approves facial recognition contract for police
- Suspect in murders of Cobb sheriff’s deputies gets life sentence
- Two women identified as suspects in Canton Road car fire
- Smyrna murder suspect arrested in Delk-Powers Ferry area
- East Cobb woman indicted for her mother’s strangulation death
- Suspect arrested at Roswell Road apartment after police standoff
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