Cobb County

Phony hostage situation leads to discovery of mistreated animals, police say

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A man convinced a woman that a gunman was holding his wife hostage and got her to call 911.

Police said when they arrived, they ended up arresting the husband and wife.

A woman at a drive-thru bank ATM had no idea about the bizarre series of events about to happen Monday at around midnight.

According to a 911 call obtained by Channel 2's Matt Johnson, it started with a man running up to her car near Sandy Plains Road in Marietta.

Caller: "I was going to get some money out of the ATM and he just popped out of the bushes and scared the s*** out of me."

The "he" is 30-year-old Andrew Douglas.

Caller: He looks like he's in distress.
911 Operator: Ok what did he say...
Caller: He looks like he's been running through some woods or something.
Man: I've been hiding.
Caller: He's been hiding. I don't know what's going on ma'am. I'm just dialing 911.

Eventually, Douglas said someone was holding his wife, Krystal Cranmer, hostage at their home right around the corner on Macby Walk.

911 Operator: What's going on with his wife? I'm trying to understand what happened.
Caller: He said his wife is being held hostage.

When Cobb County police showed up to the house, they didn't find any hostage-taker but they did find two dogs and three cats living in filth.

"There was animal feces everywhere, animal urine, cigarette butts, trash, all sorts of unimaginable things," said Sarah O'Hara, with the Cobb County Police Department.

Authorities seized the animals but when Johnson knocked on the door, he could hear a dog barking inside.

The arrest warrant showed that police found two glass pipes in the home with methamphetamine residue.

In the end, a fake hostage story led to very real criminal charges against Douglas and his wife.

"It's a slap in the face to us when we get out there that none of it is true," O'Hara said.

Police say the couple were both under the influence of meth at the time.

The husband also faces a misdemeanor offense for filing a false report.