JOHNS CREEK, Ga. -- Authorities are searching for a man who snuck into a home, zip-tied a woman and stole $40,000 worth of cash and jewelry.
It happened Saturday night at a home on Tucker Brooke Lane in Johns Creek. Police said that a 54-year-old woman was home alone and sitting at her kitchen table when she heard noises coming from the backyard.
At first, she thought it was her husband. Then she heard them again. She got up and checked the garage and living room door and saw nothing. Then she leaned to look in the hallway and was suddenly confronted by a ski mask-wearing man who pointed a gun in her face.
The man zip-tied her hands and feet, gagged her, and placed her face-down on the floor. She said the man called her by her last name and demanded "store money", presumed to be cash from the store that she and her husband own.
The suspect made off with $10,000 in cash and $30,000 of jewelry.
Police said the man was alone, but was communicating with someone on the phone or a radio.
The woman, who was home alone at the time, escaped from the zip ties and ran to a neighbor's house to call police. She was not injured.
Police believe the home was targeted due to the business the couple owned, and the crime just happened to take place in Johns Creek because that's where the victims lived.
"From all indication, it looks like they were targeted," said Johns Creek Police Capt. Chris Byers. "They used her name, were asking for the money from the business, so all evidence points to this being targeted and not a random attack."
She described the suspect as a black man standing about 5'6" in his late 20s with a stocky build. He was wearing a black, long-sleeve cotton shirt and black pants.
