Ex-pro football player accused of staging racially motivated burglary in Gwinnett
A former NFL player was arrested after allegedly destroying his Gwinnett County, Georgia, business and spray-painting slurs on his walls to make it appear he was the victim of a racially motivated burglary. Gwinnett police arrested Edawn Louis Coughman, 31, on charges of false report of a crime, insurance fraud and concealing a license plate.
About 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, officers were dispatched to a burglary call at the Create and Bake Restaurant and Coughman’s Creamery on Duluth Highway in unincorporated Lawrenceville, Gwinnett police spokeswoman Cpl. Michele Pihera said Friday in a news release.The caller said a man driving a black Chevrolet pickup was inside the shop damaging the business.
Officers searched the area and spotted a truck leaving the shopping center, police said. Coughman was behind the wheel and officers noticed several televisions in the bed of the truck and inside the cab, Pihera said. The TVs were still attached to brackets and appeared to have been pulled off a wall, authorities said.Officers learned Coughman was the owner of the business. Inside the shop, they found graffiti scrawled on walls and booth cushions.
“Officers saw racially motivated words, swastikas, and ‘MAGA,’” Pihera said. “Several booth cushions were sliced open. They also found broken mirrors, cut wires and a damaged video surveillance system. The smell of spray paint was very fresh. When officers touched it, the paint appeared wet.” Coughman reportedly told police he noticed the damage earlier in the day. He called his insurance company to report the break-in, but not 911, according to police.
He was arrested after officers determined he wasn’t being honest about what happened, Pihera said.On Thursday, police searched Coughman’s truck and found cans of black spray paint and a yellow crowbar that matched pry marks discovered on the back door of the business, police said.
https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/breaking-gwinnett-business-owner-accused-staging-racially-motivated-burglary/8yfD8wy2nf8kIwtVLQ1SSP/#
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