A Greenwood man has been charged with kidnapping two women and committing armed robbery.
Charles Anthony Johnson, 26, 1208 Early St., remained in the Leflore County Jail this morning. He was awaiting transfer to the Mississippi Department of Corrections for a parole or probation violation.
Just after midnight Friday, Greenwood police “received a call from a convenience store stating that a woman came in and needed help,” said Police Chief Ray Moore.
The woman used the store’s ATM and gave the store’s owner the tag number and description of the vehicle, a red Chevy Cobalt, she was in before leaving the store, the chief said.
Officers stopped the vehicle a short time later at the intersection of Fourth Street and Leflore Avenue and found Johnson with two women. He was armed with a BB pistol that looked like a handgun, according to Moore.
Although the weapon was not a firearm, the women thought it was a handgun, so the state’s armed robbery statute applies, the chief said.
The women told police that Johnson produced what appeared to be a handgun outside the Main Attraction nightclub on Main Street and threatened them, Moore said.
Johnson then forced his way into the car, the chief said, and demanded the women to “take me where I want to go,” the incident report said.
“He ordered one of the female subjects to withdraw $300 using her ATM debit card, which she did,” Moore said.
While the robbery was taking place, the second woman managed to send a text message to a friend, which said, “Call 911, we’re getting robbed. Hurry up, he had a gun. Don’t text back,” according to the police report.
It was while the victim was inside the store getting money from the ATM that she was able to ask for help before returning to the vehicle, the chief said.
Johnson also faces a contempt of court charge.
Johnson, if convicted of armed robbery, could face life in prison. Each kidnapping charge carries a maximum of 30 years.
•Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
