Ava Coleman, 17 and Christopher Jones Kratzer, 19, have been charged by the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office with felony counts for raising a false public alarm and misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct.
On Wednesday, July 3, the two teens allegedly staged a prank that they intended to film and upload to social media. The prank would have Coleman tied up in the back seat of an SUV screaming for help as the vehicle circled through the shopping center’s parking lot.
At approximately 6 p.m. on Wednesday, the Forsyth County 911 dispatch center began receiving calls from people at The Collection who witnessed the incident and believed that it was an active abduction. The callers stated that the female’s hands appeared to be bound , while her head was covered by what appeared to be a pillowcase.
The reports state that the vehicle was driven by a Hispanic male, and the woman was heard yelling, “He is going to kill me.”
Reports state eight Forsyth County patrol cars were quickly dispatched to the scene, along with five officers from the Johns Creek Police Department and an off-duty Gwinnett County Police Officer that was in the area.
Sightings of the vehicle’s tag number allowed officers to track the vehicle to the registered owner. The owner allegedly told deputies that his daughter had taken the vehicle with his permission to do a prank. The owner of the vehicle helped officers to locate and perform a felony traffic stop of the SUV in the parking lot of John’s creek United Methodist Church.
"For 20 straight minutes deputies were racing across Forsyth County to help this girl, thinking that this was a true abduction.
With a felony traffic stop, where suspects are ordered out of their vehicle at gunpoint, anything can happen. The situation ended without harm coming to the officers, suspects or civilians, Coleman surrendered herself to the Sheriff's Office on Friday, July 5 and was released shortly after on bond. Kratzer is being held in the Forsyth County Jail under no bond for allegedly violating the terms of his probation during the incident.
Kratzer was arrested in April of 2018 after he damaged five vehicles by throwing blocks of wood and other objects out the window of his vehicle at passing cars. He later pleaded guilty to six counts of criminal damage to property and was sentenced to nine years of probation and 200 hours of community service.