Teen charged after taking mask off mid-robbery and claiming it was a YouTube prank
A teenager has been charged with criminal attempt to commit armed robbery after he was caught on camera claiming he was trying to pull a prank for YouTube. Take a look for yourself:
While the teenager arrested and charged has tried to claim he was just trying to pull a prank to put on YouTube, the police aren't so convinced by his version of events.
Security footage from a vape shop in Georgia showed a man wearing a mask and hood enter the store and appear to brandish a firearm over the counter at a staff member.
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However, things then take a term for the weird as the alleged attempted robber then doubles up with laughter, pulling off his mask and lowering the gun and claiming the whole thing was 'just a joke' while being told 'yo dude, that's not funny'.
He then walks out of the store having stolen nothing and shot nobody, though the unlucky store clerk likely got the fright of their life.
Having pulled off his mask while on camera, police were able to circulate his picture on social media and get an identification quickly.
Fox 5 reports that the alleged attempted armed robber was 18-year-old Brandon McMahon, who claimed he did the whole thing for a YouTube prank.
According to Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, they do not believe McMahon's claimed defence that he was trying to pull a prank.
They instead think it was a real attempt at an armed robber where the teen got cold feet at the last moment and instead tried to play it off for a laugh.
Captain Jay Baker told Fox 5 that detectives didn't believe this was an attempted YouTube prank, and warned that even if it was it would still have been an incredibly dangerous thing to do.
He said: "There was no other person there with him, no one was videotaping, he does not have a YouTube video or channel as he states.
"Not only could the clerk pull out a gun and shoot you, a bystander might try to protect the clerk.
"This was an actual armed robbery that he changed his mind about during the act and tried to downplay it and leave the scene."
Police also said they found a .357 magnum after searching McMahon's home, but did not find an airsoft weapon the teen claims he used during the stunt.
Officers believe this very real weapon they discovered was the gun used during the attempted armed robbery.
McMahon has claimed his innocence, but faces a charge of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery.
Joe Harker