Man threatens to kill cousin during robbery — but aunt asked him not to, Columbus police say

A man robbing his cousin June 11 put a pistol to the victim’s right cheek and said he’d pull the trigger, had an aunt told him not to, according to testimony Monday in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

Terry Heath Lamb, 44, was charged with armed robbery, pointing a gun at another, using a gun to commit a crime, making terroristic threats, being a felon with a firearm, and two counts of false imprisonment.

Police said Lamb and two other men went to the victim’s mobile home on Morris Road about 7:45 p.m. that day. Inside Lamb saw a photo of his grandmother, and told his cousin that one of the men with him — the victim’s nephew — had never seen the picture, and asked if the nephew could come in to look at it.

“Yeah, come on in,” the victim said he replied, but when the nephew came in, Lamb pulled a pistol and put it to his cousin’s face, telling him, “I’ll kill you right now,” and adding that an aunt had ordered him not to, saying she didn’t want the victim to die before she did.

Lamb and the nephew bound the victim’s hands and ankles with zip ties and power cords from cellphones, police said. The resident’s fiancée came in, and was ordered at gunpoint to go back into another room, officers said.

While Lamb and the victim’s nephew were inside the trailer, the third robber rifled through the cousin’s car, taking a wallet, car keys and two cellphones together worth about $1,760, police said. The three then fled in a white Chevy Malibu with Alabama tags.

The victim’s fiancee cut him free and called police, later showing officers photos of Lamb she found on Facebook, investigators said.

Someone later found the discarded cellphones, flagged down a patrol officer and turned them in, authorities said. They said Lamb recently was released from prison after serving two years for armed robbery.

After hearing the evidence, prosecutor Matt Brown asked that Lamb’s charge of pointing a pistol at another be upgraded to felony aggravated assault, as Lamb is alleged to used a gun to make his cousin fear for his life, which meets the requirements of the law.

Judge Julius Hunter agreed, and found the evidence sufficient to send the case to Muscogee Superior Court. Lamb’s being held without bond.

The victim named the nephew allegedly involved in the robbery, but no other suspects were in court for the hearing.