Two Indian-origin men, Shivamkumar Patel and his friend Anil Yaganti have been arrested by the Marietta police in Georgia in a bizarre case of theft that led to an armed robbery — but the beginning was a 911 call that the duo made. According to local reports, Patel called 911 and informed the police that he and his friend Yaganti had detained a 32-year-old shoplifter who was stealing from their liquor shop.The shoplifter was identified as Jeremy Minter. Patel and Taganti detained him at gunpoint as Georgia law allows merchants to detain suspected shoplifters under certain circumstances. The Police issued the shoplifter a criminal trespass warning that prohibited him from coming back to the store for five years.But then the police had to return to the same store after they received a call from the shoplifter, who said he was the victim and he was held at gunpoint by the two of them before they called the police. Minter told police that the two men took turns searching his vehicle as well. Later, Minter realized that they stole his handgun from the vehicle. What followed were intensive interviews with all three men, which led the police to believe that the apparent shoplifter was right and there was surveillance footage available in support of what he claimed, while there were discrepancies in the statements of Patel and Yaganti. Patel and Yaganti were arrested and now face multiple serious charges. Patel has been charged with aggravated assault, armed robbery, entering an automobile with intent to commit theft, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Yaganti faces the same charges, excluding the firearm possession count. Both are being held without bond at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center. No trial date has been announced yet. Their defense is to argu that Patel and Yaganti were responding to a shoplifting incident and that’s why they searched his vehicle.
