A man accused of robbing his girlfriend’s northwest Fayette home Aug. 3 says he was forced at gunpoint to participate.
Thaddeus Deonte Fowler, 20, of Atlanta testified that co-defendant Arnold Alexander Floyd Jr. “put the gun to my head, and he said: ‘(expletive) you better get everything or I’m going to shoot you.’”
Though he had a chance to flee the home, Fowler contended that he stayed in part to protect his 16-year-old girlfriend and her 12-year-old brother.
“I didn’t want them to get hurt,” Fowler said. “I didn’t know. He could have shot them or anything.”
After they drove away from the home, Fowler said he asked Floyd why he did it.
Fowler said Floyd replied that “it’s hard times and he needed some money,” Fowler testified.
Fowler said Floyd, who lives in Union City, was a friend he knew from high school. Fowler said Floyd drove them to the girl’s home so Fowler could spend some time with his girlfriend.
Fowler said he told Floyd to wait in the car for the half-hour or more that lapsed prior to Floyd entering the home, threatening Fowler, his girlfriend and her brother.
Fowler and Floyd are on trial for the incident at home in the Ellen’s Ridge subdivision, which is located near the intersection of Milam and Lee’s Mill roads. They are charged with two counts of armed robbery, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of cruelty to children, two counts of kidnapping and one count of burglary.
Fowler in his testimony Wednesday said that Floyd specifically told him to grab a flat screen television from the home. Fowler said Floyd also threw several things downstairs and told him to put them in the car.
Fowler testified that after they left the area, Floyd agreed to drop him off at a pizza place where Fowler worked.
Fowler, who was unarmed, denied that he planned to rob his girlfriend’s home.
“I wouldn’t try to rob someone that I know,” Fowler said.
The girl previously testified that she saw Fowler take a TV and some other items from her room.
Hours after the incident, Fayette County sheriff’s detectives had Floyd under arrest, and they found items taken during the burglary located in Floyd’s bedroom, including an Xbox video game system and a framed Hummer poster. It wasn’t until three weeks later that Fowler was apprehended, officials said.
On Tuesday, the 16-year-old victim and her brother testified they were both afraid during the incident that they would be shot. The girl said she was on the phone with a friend when she turned around and first saw Floyd pointing a gun at her.
“I said, ‘Oh my God, why are you in here?’” the girl recalled. “He told me: ‘Shut up and give me the phone.’ And I gave him the phone.”
Floyd then forced her upstairs and ordered her to disrobe, the girl testified. She explained to the jury that after taking off her shirt, she refused to go further, which caused Floyd to scream at her to “go faster.”
The girl testified that after putting her shirt back on she convinced Floyd to let her go into her brother’s room, and that’s where Floyd took the house phone and her brother’s cellphone before ordering the brother to pack up valuables including the Xbox video game system.
The girl’s brother testified that Floyd forced him to pack up several items from his room so they could be removed from the home easier, including the video game system and other valuables.
Fowler testified Wednesday that his girlfriend told him she was 17 at the time, but he found out in court Tuesday that she was in fact 16 when the incident occurred.
