A local physician on Tuesday described his abduction by a validated gang member from the Ace Hardware parking lot on South Broad Street, saying, "I was probably more scared than I have ever been in my life."
The doctor said after he exited the hardware a man armed with a handgun climbed into the passenger side of his 2012 silver Toyota Tacoma pickup truck and told him, "This is a gun. Start driving."
He said the man took $200 from his wallet and also instructed him to drive to the First Tennessee Bank in St. Elmo, where he withdrew another $200 from the ATM.
The witness at the hearing for Montez Murphy in General Sessions Court said it appeared that Murphy "had done this before" with the care he took to wipe away fingerprints inside the truck and to hide his face at the ATM.
Prosecutor Cameron Williams said the one cautionary step that Murphy did not take was to wipe off fingerprints where he touched the door of the truck. Police were able to lift four prints from near the door handle. They were a match to Murphy.
The doctor said the man took his iPhone shortly before he climbed out of the truck. He said a check of the phone found that it was within a block of where the man got out and was turned off.
He said the man at one time told him, "I don't want to go back to prison."
Prosecutor Williams said Murphy had served a prior prison term for aggravated robbery.
The witness said at one point a 9mm bullet fell out of the man's gun and dropped between his legs after he cocked the weapon.
He said the man told him his name was Murphy. He said he told the robber shortly before he got out of the vehicle, "Michael, I will be praying for you - and this story is not over."
He said he was shown a photo lineup and picked out the one who looked the most like the robber. But a photo of Murphy was not in that lineup.
He was shown a picture of Murphy after the fingerprint match, and he said that was definitely the robber.
Judge Lila Statom bound charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery and possession of a weapon in the commission of a felony to the Grand Jury.
She set the bond at $200,000 on the kidnapping, $100,000 on the robbery and $75,000 on the gun charge.