By Nicole Burns
Buford, Ga — Gwinnett County police were dispatched to Mimi’s Cafe located at 1880 Mall of Georgia Boulevard in Buford, Ga on the morning of April 9, 2019, in reference to a robbery. The caller was the restaurant manager who advised 9-1-1 that while she was opening the restaurant, a suspect robbed the restaurant.
The first officers arrived on the scene and proceeded into the restaurant towards the back office. Through the office window, a female could be seen standing in the office with zip ties around her wrists. The female opened the office door upon seeing police and appeared to be highly emotional.
The female victim was identified as the restaurant manager. She stated that she parked her car in front of the restaurant around 6:15 a.m. She noticed a white newer model Toyota passenger car parked near the patio section of the restaurant. As the manager was walking towards the front door a white male exited the Toyota passenger car. The male identified himself as an AT&T worker and was there to fix the wifi. The female victim’s General Manager had advised her the night before that a person might be showing up the next morning to fix the televisions but was not sure what was actually wrong with them. The male asked the female if he could come in and she said that he could. She proceeded to the office and had thought the male went back out to his vehicle.
Five minutes later, the male entered the office and had a black handgun in his hand. The male told her to get on the ground and open the safe. The manager stated that she sat in the chair trying to talk to the male. She asked him to not do this, that she did not want to get fired. The female said that the male appeared to be nervous and not prepared. That she believed this to be his first robbery. She then complied and opened the safe and the suspect began removing the money which was around $1,500.00. The suspect then had her sit in the office chair and tied her to the arms of the chair using large clear plastic zip ties. She continued to plead with him as he dumped the cash into a bookbag. She told him that she was going to lose her job for this and the male stated, “You won’t get fired, I will give you some of the money.” She told police that she found that odd and was not sure why the suspect would give her any money. The manager said the suspect finished collecting the money and left the office while she was still zip tied to the chair. The manager was able to free her hands and then called 9-1-1.
The suspect is described as a white male in his late 20s to early 30s, around 5’8” in height and weighing about 170 lbs. He was wearing a blue hoodie, gray pants, and black and orange Adidas shoes. The suspect had a short trimmed beard and wore glasses. He was seen in a newer model white Toyota passenger car. The suspect also wore gloves so no fingerprints were able to be collected.
Investigators are still seeking additional information and tips as to the suspect’s identity in this case. If you have any information in this case, please contact the Gwinnett County Police Department at (770) 513-5390. Reference case number 190031504.
