A former Atlanta police officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the armed robbery of aspiring rapper Bankroll Freddie (pictured).
Former cop Justin Mikale Thorne, 26, pled guilty to multiple felony charges earlier this month.
Thorne’s attorney, Lenny Franco told a bond hearing judge in 2019 that his client participated in the robbery after he and his family were threatened.
Police say Thorne, who was wearing his APD uniform, served as lookout while the two thugs robbed Freddie and his cousin.
Two weeks before the robbery, Thorne reportedly resigned from the APD amid allegations that he offered to take a bribe from a suspect in exchange for making a warrant go away.
Bankroll Freddie and his cousin were robbed at gunpoint at a Comfort Inn and Suites in Cobb County, Georgia in 2019.
Video obtained by WSB-TV shows Freddie joking with a desk clerk about becoming a robbery victim.
At the time, Freddie had a thick bankroll in his pocket that impressed the desk clerk.
“Is that money in your pocket?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Freddie responded.
“It’s real money?” the clerk asked.
“Yeah,” Freddie confirmed.
“You don’t ever think you’re going to get robbed or something?” she said.
Freddie responded, “You know, you ever heard that old saying, ‘People know who to play with?'”
EXCLUSIVE: Just hours before rising rapper Bankroll Freddie is robbed at gunpoint, he joked with the front desk about becoming a robbery victim.@wsbtv pic.twitter.com/w6pGRtPdwN
— Michael Seiden (@SeidenWSBTV) May 22, 2023
Hours later, Freddie, 28, and his cousin heard a knock on their motel room door. Two men wearing hoodies were at the door. One of the armed robbers said, “You already know what time it is.”
EXCLUSIVE: Freddie Bankroll and his cousin told police they were getting ready to check out of their motel when they got a knock on their door from Justin Thorne. Here’s what happened next pic.twitter.com/5x6ULXmD3q
— Michael Seiden (@SeidenWSBTV) May 22, 2023
Surveillance video shows one of the thugs chasing Freddie down a hall while his cousin is being pistol-whipped.
EXCLUSIVE: Here’s another look at the armed robbery. Freddie Bankroll escapes w/o injury while his cousin is pistol whipped. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/au0ewnWlP4
— Michael Seiden (@SeidenWSBTV) May 23, 2023
Bankroll Freddie, real name Freddie Gladney III, got his start when he posted a freestyle on Instagram. The freestyle got the attention of music executive Pierre “P” Thomas, who signed the aspiring rapper to Quality Control Music and Motown Records.
