What started as a social media “teen takeover” watch in Gwinnett County ended with a 33-year-old man in handcuffs and a gun pulled from an abandoned backpack, according to police.
Officers say they were monitoring a reported takeover on March 14 when they spotted a suspicious backpack left in a parking lot. The man they later identified as James Prayer, 33, was allegedly tracked to that lot by aviation units, where he was seen dropping the bag before loading his electric bike into a friend’s vehicle and leaving the area, authorities say. Officers recovered the backpack, found a handgun inside, and then stopped a vehicle a short time later, taking Prayer into custody after a traffic stop.
How police say the stop unfolded
Officers working a special detail near the reported takeover first noticed a man in a ski mask behind a building and called for help from aviation units, according to 95.5 WSB. From the air, officers kept visual contact as the man, later identified as Prayer, moved to a nearby parking lot.
Aviation officers reported that Prayer set a backpack on the ground and walked away. Ground officers then retrieved the bag, where they say they found a firearm inside. The traffic stop that followed led officers to Prayer, who was detained and taken into custody.
Bodycam footage shows the exchange
Body-worn camera video released by Gwinnett County police captures Prayer insisting he did not have anything illegal on him at the time officers pulled him over. In the footage, an officer is heard telling him, “Right now, you are correct,” and Prayer responds, “I shouldn’t be going to jail for nothing that’s on me,” according to 95.5 WSB.
Charges and booking records
Booking records list Prayer as having been taken into custody on March 14 on charges that include reckless conduct and “receipt, possession or transfer of firearm by convicted felon,” according to The Georgia Gazette. Local reporting says officials cited those same categories after reviewing the bodycam footage tied to the arrest.
Why police are on alert
The arrest comes as metro Atlanta agencies step up enforcement around so-called teen takeover events that are organized or fueled by social media. On February 28, officers along the Atlanta Beltline arrested 14 people and recovered 10 firearms at one such gathering, according to CBS Atlanta…