A Marietta teen charged with stabbing a pawn shop employee in a robbery and nearly causing his death has been implicated in three other violent heists in the area, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Tomas Lopez Torres Jr., 18, appearing in Cobb County court for a probable cause hearing Thursday in the April 14 attack at The Hock Shop in Marietta, also is charged with robberies of a convenience store and two adult fantasy stores in the city, authorities said.
When asked by investigators why he committed the crimes, Torres said “people were forcing him to commit these crimes,” Marietta police Detective Matthew Parker told the court. The teen did not elaborate.
In the attack at The Hock Shop, at Cobb Parkway and Gresham Road, Torres repeatedly stabbed a store employee who Parker said “was eviscerated and left for dead.” The employee survived the attack.
The teenager also is charged with robbing a convenience store at a Chevron gas station at South Marietta Parkway and Powers Ferry Road, the Tantra Adult Fantasy Store on Cobb Parkway, and Elations, another adult store, on Roswell Road.
Police described the adult store heists as violent takeover-style robberies.
In the Elations stick-up, Torres, armed with a handgun, and another unknown suspect entered the store at 8 p.m. Feb. 17 and ordered two store employees to the ground, according to an arrest warrant. One bandit held a gun on the workers, while another went to the cash register and took about $200 in cash and roughly $50 worth of cigars, the warrant said.
In the Tantra robbery, Torres, again armed with a handgun, entered the business at 9:20 p.m. April 28 and ordered everyone to lie down on the floor and hand over their wallets, according to an arrest warrant. He got away with three wallets and $330 cash, the warrant said.
On May 7, the Chevron was robbed. Torres was arrested that day and implicated himself in the other robberies, police said.
Torres is being held without bond in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on charges including aggravated battery, two counts of false imprisonment, three counts of aggravated assault and seven counts of armed robbery, jail records show.
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