HOLLY SPRINGS, Ga. — A man was arrested and charged with kidnapping late Monday night after Holly Springs Police said a child was kidnapped inside of a stolen car at a gas station.
Officers with the department were called out to 2240 Holly Springs Parkway, the address of a Shell gas station, in response to a vehicle theft.
Dispatch was alerted that a child was inside the car when it was stolen. That's when police said the child's mother chased down the car when the suspect stopped a short distance down the road and pulled the man out of her car before he ran across the street toward a package store and the Pinecrest Motor Lodge.
Police were then able to get a photo and description of the suspect, later identified as 48-year-old Joseph Avram, and began searching around the businesses across the street from the Shell gas station. Officers were later able to get his phone number, where they pinged his cell phone, which showed it was in Atlanta near a Greyhound bus station.
The Atlanta Police Department was notified, and they were able to take Avram into custody. He was charged with kidnapping and theft by taking, according to the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office. Avram was booked into the Cherokee County Jail.
