A Gainesville man faces a long list of charges - including kidnapping - following a crime spree on the east side of the city Monday morning.
Deputy Chief Jay Parrish with the Gainesville Police Department said the series of events began on Fair Street when Marquis Bonds, 24, threatened the imam of the local mosque.
"He wanted to inflict terror and panic in the victim....with a rifle,his demeanor and his actions," Parrish said.
Parrish said the suspect used his vehicle to block the victim's car in in the area of Fair Street, Pryor Street and Watson Place. Bonds then retrieved a weapon from his vehicle.
"The imam did see Mr. Bonds retrieving a rifle. That's when he [the imam] backed his vehicle up and had to take evasive action to flee the area to save his own life," Parrish said.
Parrish said Fair Street School was not involved in the incident at any time, and no danger was ever posed to it.
From the school, Bonds traveled to the Friendly Food Mart on Athens Street and apparently stole a van from the parking lot. Parrish said there was a baby in the van.
"The mother who was just outside the van when he stole the van to get away saw the direction that Mr. Bonds went and we saturated that area," Parrish said.
He said when they found Bonds, he was standing outside the van on the side of road, holding the child. Parrish said he released the child without incident and was taken into custody. The child was not injured.
Initially, detectives did not realize the incident with the Imam was tied to the stolen van, but Parrish said they were able to make the connection by Tuesday afternoon.
Bonds has been charged with kidnapping, felony theft by taking, possession of a gun by a convicted felon, aggravated assault and aggravated driving in connection with the Monday events. Parrish said Bonds was also charged with interference with government property for punching a hole in a wall at the police department when he was brought in for questioning.
Parrish also said detectives confiscated the weapon used in the incident with the Imam and it has been turned over to the ATF to trace its origin.
Parrish said the Gainesville Police Department received assistance from the Hall County Sheriff's Office as they were tracking Bonds. He also said the community was a big help.
"I just appreciate all the people in the community that came forward to help us put this case together," Parrish said. "This was definitely a case of one man trying to predicate acts against others to incite fear. A very dangerous criminal and a dangerous weapon has been taken off the street."
NOTE: This story has been corrected. A prior version stated that a portion of the crime happened at Fair Street Elementary. Police have since said that was not the case.
