ATLANTA — A pair of suspects nearly fell on top of an employee during a brazen robbery inside a cash-checking business in southwest Atlanta.
It happened on Sept. 3 at Atlanta Check Cashers in the 2400 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. SW in the Holmes Shopping Plaza.
On Monday, Atlanta Police released some of the video from the robbery that lasted approximately nine minutes.
In the video, you see an employee behind the glass counter walking when all of a sudden, she's startled by a ceiling tile falling, followed by a pair of legs sticking out.
The incident report stated that the employee heard a "loud thumping noise" above her when she got into work but didn't think much of it because construction was happening next door.
Atlanta Police said the suspects used power tools to cut a hole in the roof of the business to gain access to the ceiling.
At about 8:17 a.m., you see the first suspect falling to the ground. He immediately runs toward the female employee. Police said he ordered her to the ground.
Seconds later, you see a second pair of legs hanging out of the ceiling before it drops down and starts to swing.
The second suspect is seen carrying a pink Adidas duffle bag with him. He crawls over the employee and the other suspect.
At the same time he drops in, you can see a customer walk through the front door of the check cashing business.
The incident report states that the employee heard one of the suspects talking to a third suspect who was acting as a lookout outside and alerted them to the customer.
The suspects told the employee to get the customer out of the lobby. The report shows that the customer left and didn't realize they had walked in during a robbery.
Once the customer left, the video shows the suspects walking with the employee into a room filled with safes.
They go over to a tall safe and open it. The video shows a large amount of cash inside the safe. Police said the duo stole more than $150,000.
Police said what the video doesn't show is after clearing out the safe, they take the employee to the bathroom and duct tape her.
In a third video the police released, the suspects appear behind the business. One is on his cell phone before the two appear to have a conversation about their ski masks. It appears one is motioning to the other to pull up his mask.
Once the suspect rolls up his mask, the two walk outside, where they encounter a woman who just happens to be walking by the backdoor of the business at the same time.
Police said the two suspects seen in the video were last seen walking north on Hamilton E. Holmes. A third suspect, who was believed to be the lookout, was pulling a cooler and walking west on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Anyone who has information on this robbery is asked to call APD or Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS(8477). You can also email anonymous information using the online form at www.crimestoppersatlanta.org.
The tip can result in a reward of up to $2,000 to the individual who supplied the information needed to solve the case.