After a series of vehicle break-ins and an alleged confrontation with witnesses, an Atlanta man was taken to a place he knows quite well — the Fulton County Jail.
Lee Kynerd, 56, was booked into the jail for the 32nd time, according to online jail records. In total, he’s been arrested 40 times, according to Atlanta police.
This latest arrest comes after an incident last Wednesday in the parking lot of the Park Tavern restaurant off 10th Street, which is located in Piedmont Park, according to an incident report obtained by AJC.com. About 3:15 p.m., officers responded to a report of a fight and found Kynerd and two other people in the parking lot.
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The two people told officers that they spotted Kynerd breaking into cars and using a knife to pry open the passenger window of a vehicle to get inside, the report said. The witnesses then attempted to block Kynerd from escaping the scene, which led to the confrontation.
Kynerd is accused of lunging at one of the witnesses with the knife, missing and accidentally cutting his own fingers during the motion. He then pulled out a second knife, but the witnesses were able to disarm him, the report said.
One of the witnesses said Kynerd threatened him by saying, “When I get out of jail, I’m gonna shoot and kill you. I know you your car look like,” the report said. The suspect allegedly gave officers a false name before he was identified and arrested.
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Kynerd was charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats, false statements, possession of tools for the commission of a crime, prowling and parole violation, jail records show. He remains in custody without bond.
He’s a convicted felon who has served four stints in prison since 2001 for a total of almost four years, according to Georgia Department of Corrections records. He was most recently released from Rogers State Prison on March 6, 2019 on parole, which was scheduled to end in April.
Credit: Georgia Department of Corrections
Credit: Georgia Department of Corrections
All of his prior felony convictions were in Fulton and include several counts of entering vehicles, theft by taking, criminal trespassing and possession of tools for the commission of a crime, GDC records show.
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In a Facebook post about the arrest, Atlanta police warned witnesses to “not approach criminals and immediately call 911 when you see something we need to check out.”
The department said the best course of action is to get a good description of the suspect to provide to officers.
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