Gwinnett woman accused of beating vape shop manager after claiming he groped her
Gwinnett County police say a 20-year-old woman who accused a vape shop manager of sexual battery is now facing charges herself after allegedly attacking him with two other women the following day.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
According to police, Zanaya Loyal reported that Smoke City manager Atique Rahman groped her on April 14 at the Stone Mountain Highway store. Loyal, who works nearby, told officers Rahman made inappropriate comments, followed her to the door, unzipped her sweatshirt, and grabbed her chest. She said the incident ended when her phone rang, startling him.
Roughly 10 minutes after Loyal gave her statement to officers at the South Precinct the next day, police were called back to the same store. Rahman, 53, was found with a large head injury, vomiting and disoriented.
Witnesses told police a group of women had pulled up in a black Infiniti SUV and began punching and kicking Rahman, even after he lost consciousness on the sidewalk.
TRENDING STORIES:
GA judge resigns while being investigated for using county funds for vacation
Ex-GA detention officer caught on camera stealing detainee items, sheriff's office says
'Not just a home:' Pre-Civil War house being moved from Cobb County
Investigators say surveillance video confirmed the attackers included Loyal and two other women. Police also say the video also captured Rahman groping Loyal during the earlier encounter.
When asked about the incident on Wednesday, a man identifying himself as Atique Rahman said, 'I'm not okay at this time.'
Last week, Gwinnett County police charged Rahman with misdemeanor sexual battery. He said he didn't know about the warrant or the nature of the allegation.
'I am Atique,' he said, 'but I can't say anything else, brother.'
Loyal and two relatives are facing aggravated assault and battery charges. As of Wednesday, they had not been arrested.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ex-Arkansas police chief, serving time for murder and rape, escapes prison
A former police chief in Arkansas sentenced to prison for rape and first-degree murder remains on the run after escaping a state facility in a disguise, a department of corrections spokesperson confirmed on May 26. Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, Arkansas, at 2:55 p.m. local time on May 25 wearing a "makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement," according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections. The former Gateway, Arkansas, police chief was imprisoned in 2017. "We've had a lot of rain and it's hampered the search efforts for most of the day," Rand Champion, an Arkansas Department of Corrections spokesperson, told USA TODAY. "But it looks like the rain should subside, and hopefully, that will help." Champion said Hardin was only gone for about 20 minutes before an officer noticed he was missing. Hardin was sentenced in Benton County in 2017 to 30 years in prison for murder, according to his corrections department profile. He was then sentenced in 2019 to 25 years for rape. Sheriff Brandon Long of Stone County, which borders Calico Rock, said in a Facebook post that Hardin escaped through a secure entryway wearing a fake Department of Corrections uniform. A photo shared by the sheriff's office shows Hardin pushing a cart loaded with materials. Authorities consider Hardin "extremely dangerous." Officials are also investigating the events that led to Hardin's escape. The Arkansas Department of Corrections, Arkansas State Police, and local police are working to find Hardin, officials said. Police K-9 units are also searching for Hardin, Champion said. Hardin was serving decades-long sentences at the North Central Unit facility near the Missouri border in Calico Rock, Arkansas. The facility is located about 130 miles north of Little Rock, Arkansas, and can hold around 800 prisoners, according to the Department of Corrections. The facility is also about 130 miles east of the tiny Arkansas town of Gateway, where Hardin served as police chief, and near his last known address in Garfield, Arkansas, according to the corrections department. "He does have a law enforcement background," Champion said, KHBS/KHOG-TV reported. "Anytime something like this exists, we consider it a threat to the community." Hardin pleaded guilty in 2017 to shooting and killing James Appleton, according to KHBS/KHOG-TV. Appleton was killed in his truck in February of that year. His brother-in-law told police that he was on the phone with Appleton when a car sped down the road and stopped next to Appleton's. A witness said he saw a white sedan next to Appleton's truck, heard a boom, and saw the sedan leave. The witness found Appleton shot in the head in the truck, KHBS/KHOG-TV reported. Police in Rogers, Arkansas, another town in Benton County, used DNA evidence in 2018 to link Hardin to the 1997 rape of a school teacher, KHBS/KHOG-TV reported. The woman told police a man raped her when she had left her classroom for the restroom. He was disguised with a knit stocking and sunglasses and carried a pistol, according to KHBS/KHOG-TV. Hardin bounced around police departments before becoming the top cop in Gateway, according to KHBS/KHOG-TV and the Associated Press. He was with the Fayetteville Police Department from Aug. 6, 1990, to May 22, 1991, according to KHBS/KHOG-TV. The department's chief of police then said he terminated Hardin because his efforts "fall short of the average probationary officer" and that he had a "tendency to not accept constructive criticism along with indecisiveness under stressful situations." A spell at the Eureka Springs Police Department, from April 1993 to October 1996, was marred by excessive uses of force and poor decisions on the job, the department's former police chief said, according to 40/29. Hardin was the chief of police for Gateway for about four months at the start of 2016, according to the Associated Press. The man he killed, Appleton, was the brother-in-law of the town's mayor. Hardin's flight is just the latest high-profile escape in the nation. In New Orleans, 10 inmates – including some charged with murder – broke out of an Orleans Parish jail earlier in May. Louisiana State Police announced the arrests of three more inmates in the brazen prison escape. Authorities said two escapees, Derrick Groves, 27, and Antoine Massey, 32, remain at large. Groves, 27, was convicted of two charges of second-degree murder and two charges of attempted second-degree murder in October in connection with a shooting during Mardi Gras in 2018, according to a statement from the district attorney's office. Massey was charged with domestic abuse involving strangulation and theft of a motor vehicle, according to Orleans Parish records. Authorities initially suspected that other individuals helped with their escape from the prison. At least seven people have been arrested and charged with helping the inmates, including a fellow inmate accused of collaborating with the escapees. 'Fear of retribution' in New Orleans: Mass jail escape brings a big uneasy "As I promised when we initiated our investigation, we will hold absolutely everyone who contributed any role to the prison break in New Orleans accountable," Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said. Contributing: Jeanine Santucci (This story was updated to add new information and video.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Former Arkansas police chief sentenced for murder escapes prison
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘Grateful that I'm here;' woman recounts chaotic wrong-way chase on I-75 that ended in crash
A woman witnessed a wrong-way chase on I-75 Thursday that included a man throwing wood at officers. 'Here comes a white pick-up truck full-fledged and I'm like 'oh my gosh,'' Preshes Mathews recalled. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Mathews could hardly believe her eyes as she came off the ramp from I-75 to US-35 westbound. 'It was shocking. The vehicle was missing a wheel on the back, and they were going full force, and there was a lot of officers engaged,' she said. >> RELATED: Deputies: Wood thrown at officers in high-speed chase; ends in wrong-way crash on I-75 Mathews pulled onto the right shoulder with her 9-year-old son. She warned friends driving a few moments behind her. 'I went into some prayer, not just for me because at that point we were quote unquote safe, but I knew he was going around that 75 bend,' Mathews said. TRENDING STORIES: Heroic local pharmacist saves 2 lives in one shift Local officer resigns after OVI arrest Deputies: Wood thrown at officers in high-speed chase; ends in wrong-way crash on I-75 Video provided by the Ohio Department of Transportation shows the white pickup going southbound in northbound I-75 lanes. It led to a head-on crash moments later in Moraine. A Montgomery County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said law enforcement tracked down all four people in the truck, including one who rode in the back. 'So it was very incomprehensible and selfish,' Mathews said. Investigators told us it began in Perry Township officer tried to pull the pickup over. 'I just want to say I'm very grateful that I'm here. I have a brand new grandbaby who was just 8 days old,' Mathews said. The crash involved six vehicles, and no life-threatening injuries have been reported. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Local officer resigns after OVI arrest
A local officer has resigned after he was arrested for reportedly driving under the influence in Indiana. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Clayton officer Jacob Filbrun was arrested by police in Fort Wayne, Indiana, over Memorial Day weekend for a suspected OVI after attending an event, according to a statement from Clayton Police Chief Matt Hamlin. TRENDING STORIES: Deputies: Wood thrown at officers in high-speed chase; ends in wrong-way crash on I-75 Injuries reported after car slams into Miami County home Child, adult dead after being pulled from SUV that went into pond 'An Internal Investigation was initiated by this department, and during the conclusion of the investigation, Mr. Filbrun resigned with an effective date of July 2,' Hamlin said. Filbrun is currently on an unpaid administrative leave, utilizing vacation accrual until July 2, according to Hamlin. He is facing charges of resisting law enforcement, leaving the scene of an accident, and speeding, according to Indiana court records. We will continue to follow this story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
