ATLANTA – A judge dismissed 11 of 14 charges against a man accused of holding several women against their will in a Sandy Springs million-dollar mansion.
Kenndric Roberts is now only facing two counts of false imprisonment and a weapons charged after Judge Jaslovelin 'Jessy' Lall dismissed nearly a dozen charges in a preliminary hearing on Thursday.
“I don’t know whether I’ve been listening to a civil case regarding breach of contract or a criminal case involving trafficking, false imprisonment and so forth—but, clearly at the present time, based on the information that was presented, I find probable cause for the charge of false imprisonment for two of the alleged victims in the case, as well as possession of the firearms charge—dismissing the other charges,” Lall said.
Roberts’ bail is set at $80,000, which means he could be out of jail as soon as Thursday night, according Fulton County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tracy Flanagan.
PHOTOS | Judge dismisses human trafficking charges (story continues below gallery)
PHOTOS | Judge dismisses human trafficking charges, sets bond at $80K
Roberts was arrested earlier this month when a 20-year-old woman called 911 and said that the 33-year-old was holding her and seven other women inside of a sprawling mansion on Strauss Lane.
"It's a house of full of girls and... if I try to leave, he’ll try to kill me," the woman told the 911 dispatcher on Tuesday, March 7 just after 7:31 a.m.
In Thursday’s preliminary hearing, a detective described his interview with that woman.
"She was recruited enticed and harbored by the defendant for the purpose of labor servitude,” said the detective, whose identity is being withheld because he works undercover, testified. “She expressed that the defendant threatened to kill her if she left.”
Authorities said seven out of the eight women have cooperated with police and several more have come forward since Roberts arrest. They claim they met Roberts online, where he promised them modeling contracts to work for his sports and entertainment promotional company.
The women, known as "Diamond Kitties," said Roberts asked them to work at strip clubs to help get the company off the ground then coerced them into giving him their earnings each night, and threatened to kill them and their families if they left. In some cases, the women alleged that Roberts obtained fancy cars using their names and credit.
The detective testified that Roberts fined women who broke his rules.
"He also had, mixed in with the receipts, fines for four of the women totaling [more than] $100,000 for insubordination over a three-day period," the detective said. "He would fine them for insubordination for $10,000 to $20,000."
But defense attorney Mike Maloof painted a vastly different picture: a luxurious life, lavish gifts and all the freedom the women wanted.
“Not one time did they go the police and saw, ‘This guy is holding me against my will,’” Maloof said. “Your honor, that’s absurd.”
Lall dismissed most of the charges, leaving them up to a grand jury to decide, but did find probable cause for false imprisonment and weapons violation charges. She did stand firm when the assistant district attorney objected to the $80,000 bond.
Two of Roberts' alleged victims told 11Alive's Valerie Hoff that they were upset at the prospect of him being set free.
