GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — What started as a suspicious sighting during a police operation quickly turned into an arrest after officers took a close look at a bag left behind.
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On March 14, Gwinnett County officers were working a special detail when they noticed a man walking from behind a building where a possible ‘teen takeover’ gathering was reported. What caught their attention: he was wearing a ski mask.
Because of the suspicious behavior, aviation units assisting on the scene began tracking the man from above.
Gwinnett County police say the man walked into a nearby parking lot, set down a bookbag, and then casually walked away from it.
A short time later, officers watched as he placed his electric bike into the trunk of a friend’s car and left the area.
However, what he left behind is what led to his arrest.
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Officers recovered the abandoned bookbag and say they found a gun inside.
A traffic stop was then conducted on the vehicle, where officers identified the passenger as 33-year-old James Prayer.
Police say Prayer questioned how he could be charged, telling officers he didn’t have the gun on him and didn’t believe they had the authority to arrest him in connection with it.
Police say that didn’t matter.
Bodycam video captured Prayer speaking with an officer. Prayer could be heard stating, “How is it right, if there is nothing on me? I don’t have anything on me.”
The officer responded, “We saw you with the backpack.”
“You seen me with a backpack,” Prayer asked.
According to police, Prayer is a convicted felon and is legally prohibited from possessing a gun. Officers say abandoning the weapon in a parking lot does not remove that responsibility.
Prayer now faces charges in connection with the gun.
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