Mother of teen held at gunpoint during robbery: 'What if the gun went off?'
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - Gwinnett County police are seeking help to find a robbery suspect. Investigators say Jay-Lan Broughton pulled out a gun and held up two teenagers at a pool on Apple Grove Road in Buford.
The mother of one of the victims tells FOX 5 her son is still shaken up.
"He’ll remember that day forever," said the woman, who doesn’t want to reveal her name or show her face. "He says he just wants to get over it."
She says one afternoon just before Memorial Day her 15-year-old son was visiting a friend at a subdivision Buford. He and his friend went to the pool. A group of about five people walked up to them. "Someone said if you go yank his chain, we’ll let you come to our party," the victim’s mother said.
One guy tried to grab a chain from around her son’s neck. "He yanked it really hard, he was just yanking at it. My son was like, ‘Whoa!’" she said.
Another guy pulled out a weapon and pointed it at her son. "Put a gun on his chest," the victim’s mother said. "At some point, they told them to empty their pockets."
Her son and his friend complied. "He emptied his pockets. He gave them everything he had," she said.
Jay-Lan Broughton (Gwinnett County Police Department)
The crooks drove off.
"This was a very brazen robbery," Sgt. Collin Flynn with the Gwinnett County Police Department. "It happened during daylight hours, there were other people around when the robbery occurred, and they did not wear masks when they did this robbery, and it was captured on surveillance."
Police arrested Edmond Buggs, just 17 years old, for a separate robbery. "He led us to the suspect who had the gun in this robbery, Jay-Lan Broughton," Flynn said.
Police say Broughton is the guy in the surveillance pictures. He is just 17 as well. "We believe that he may still have that gun. He could be a danger to anybody who approaches him," Flynn said.
The victim’s mom worries about the awful possibilities. "What if the gun went off? What could’ve happened?" She asked. "I just want him in jail."
Police say Broughton may still be in Gwinnett County. Do not approach him if you see him. Call the police or Crime Stoppers. There could be a cash reward.