Georgia Teenager Claims He Was “Joking” Regarding an Abandoned Armed Robbery

A Georgia teenager claims he entered a vape shop armed, disguised, and demanding certain supplies from the clerk as part of a joke. In Canton, Georgia's Smoke Stars Vape Shop on Thursday night, a man in a mask and dark clothing approached the clerk and pulled out a revolver. Then, in the surveillance footage, we can see the man brandishing his gun at the cashier and ordering him to hand over specific items. Bizarrely, the gunman then starts laughing. He takes off his mask and assures the startled clerk that he was joking. "Yo, dude. That’s not funny,” the clerk says. "Oh my God, bro. Oh my God, I got you," the man exclaims. He then apologizes, explains to the clerk that the weapon was "just a freaking airsoft gun," and leaves. [caption id="attachment_59706" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] image credit: ustoday[/caption] Police, however, claim it was no joke. The deputies from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office identified the Georgia teenager as 18-year-old Woodstock High School student Brandon McMahon using the CCTV footage. According to Fox 5 Atlanta, they charged the teen with a criminal attempt to commit armed robbery. According to the sheriff's office, McMahon claimed he was playing a joke on someone for a YouTube video, but they don't buy it. What's more Capt. Jay Baker stated to Fox 5, "There’s no other person there with him, no one was videotaping him, he does not have a YouTube channel as he states." If it were a joke, Baker remarked, it would be a foolish and harmful one. Furthermore, the captain warned that if something similar happened, "not only could the clerk shoot you, a bystander might try to protect the clerk, it’s very dangerous." Additionally, according to the detectives, this was a genuine robbery attempt that the culprit abandoned. [caption id="attachment_59705" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] image credit: nypost[/caption] Moreover, when they searched the residence of the Georgia teenager, they discovered a.357 Magnum, which they suspect was used in the crime, despite McMahon's claims that it was merely an airsoft gun. According to Baker, "This was an actual armed robbery that he changed his mind about during the act and tried to downplay it and leave the scene."