GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners approved a $2 million settlement Tuesday with two out-of-state bondsmen who were charged with kidnapping and home invasion in 2014.
Police told Channel 2 Action News in 2014 that Kevin Roberson and Khalil Abdullah tried to arrest a man on a misdemeanor traffic violation in Tennessee when they kicked in the door of a house on Castlebrooke Way and pointed guns at the man’s wife and their seven children.
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Police said Abdullah and Roberson broke the law when they detained the children’s mother in the house and harassed this family. Legally, they were supposed to notify local police before they did anything in the state of Georgia since they’re allegedly licensed in Tennessee.
According to court records, a Gwinnett County grand jury indicted Abdullah and Roberson on charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment and first-degree home invasion.
In 2019, Roberson and Abdullah sued the county and two police officers, Albert Miller and Ronnetta Coates, who were involved in the case. Federal court documents said the bondsmen accused the county and police officers of malicious prosecution.
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Among the accusations made in the lawsuit, Miller and Coates were accused of arresting the bondsmen without probable cause in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights. The lawsuit also said that Roberson and Abdullah suffered emotional, physical and financial troubles as a result of their arrest.
The county’s $2 million contribution will allow the reimbursement of legal fees according to the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners agenda.
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