Man arrested after trying to kidnap woman at grocery store

MARIETTA, Ga - It should have been an ordinary trip to the grocery store, but when a 48-year-old Marietta woman went into the Kroger on Powers Ferry Road last week, Marietta Police say a convicted felon was in the parking lot.

"He's watching, looking, waiting for a victim," said Marietta Police Officer Chuck McPhilamy.

Police say 34-year-old Randy Harmon forced the woman at gunpoint into the passenger seat of her own vehicle. He then got behind the wheel.

Investigators say the woman tried to fight him off and realized she had to escape. She opened the door of the moving car.

"She gets her door open and tumbles out of her own car," said McPhilamy

A short time later, Cobb County Police found the woman's car a couple of miles away. It had been abandoned.

"All the valuables are still in the vehicle, which implies to us, those things weren't the target, she was," said McPhilamy.

About 10 hours later, Cobb Police got a license plate reader hit on a stolen vehicle about 4 miles from the Kroger. The driver was arrested.

"They have no knowledge he's also the suspect in this kidnapping," said McPhilamy.

Marietta Police Department investigators were able to tie the man caught in the stolen vehicle in Cobb County to the attempted kidnapping at Kroger. 

Randy Harmon is now in the Cobb County jail facing more than half a dozen charges.

Police say it took teamwork between Marietta and Cobb Police along with the use of license plate readers to help make this arrest so quickly.

They also say they're grateful the woman who went through this terrifying ordeal is safe.

'It could have gone horribly wrong, the gun could have gone off, he could have shot her, and we commend her for bravery," said McPhilamy.