Add Us On Google Add as a preferred source on Google

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A mother held a man at gunpoint in his Atlanta home as her daughter stripped his air conditioning unit for scrap metal, arrest warrants allege.

On Monday, police responded to a robbery at a home on Meador Way in southeast Atlanta, according to the warrants.

Atlanta police spoke with the victim, who said he had just moved in the previous day and was waiting for city workers to arrive and turn on the water.

The man said he was resting in his bed when he heard the floorboards creaking. He looked up and saw a woman standing in the hallway. The warrants identify her as 48-year-old Chyneka Batista.

When the man asked what Batista was doing, she allegedly pointed a handgun at him and told him not to move.

The man said he instead grabbed a nearby hammer, told Batista to leave, then chased her outside.

In the backyard, the man said he saw another woman - identified as Batista's daughter, 33-year-old Alexis Avery - stripping parts from his HVAC unit.

The man said he grabbed Avery so she wouldn't flee. As they struggled, Avery hit the man's head with a pair of bolt cutters, the warrants say.

During the fight, the man said he heard Batista shout,  Let go of my daughter! 

The women then ran away and got into a Nissan Rogue, which was driven by Batista's mother, according to the warrants.

The victim took video of the car driving away, which showed the license plate. Officers then tracked the car to a recycling yard for scrap materials on Blashfield Avenue SE.

Police stopped the vehicle and detained the three women. The victim later identified Batista and Avery as the suspects.

Batista's mother told police her daughter and granddaughter often collected and sold scrap metal, and that they would typically call her when they needed transportation.

She said that day the two had called her to pick them up because they had a bag that was too heavy to carry.

Officers searched the woman's car and found a receipt from the recycling yard and $24 from selling the HVAC parts. Police also took photos of the scrap 

#atlantanewsfirst   #crimewatchatlanta