Man indicted in Forsyth County car dealership kidnapping during test drive

A routine service visit at a Forsyth County Mercedes-Benz dealership turned into a kidnapping case that now carries formal indictment charges against a Roswell man, putting a sharp spotlight on employee safety inside dealership service bays.

Authorities said the episode began on May 2, 2025, at RBM of Alpharetta, where 39-year-old Barinuaadum Bariyiga had brought his vehicle in for service. Investigators said he asked a 26-year-old female service advisor to demonstrate features of a loaner vehicle. Once she got inside, police said he drove away with her in the car against her will.

According to law enforcement accounts, the woman was driven around for about 40 minutes while repeatedly begging to be taken back to the dealership. She was eventually returned unharmed, but shaken, leaving a case that is now being treated far more seriously than a one-off crime report. The indictment matters because it means a grand jury found enough evidence to formally move the felony case forward, shifting the matter deeper into the court process and signaling that prosecutors believe the allegations merit a trial.

Investigators said the situation grew stranger while officers were still gathering information. Bariyiga allegedly returned to the service area and tried to leave with a child in a car seat. Police said he resisted arrest, adding to the charges already tied to the alleged kidnapping. Earlier reporting said he faced counts including kidnapping, false imprisonment and obstruction.

The case has resonated in Forsyth County because it happened in a place built around routine, not confrontation. A dealership service department depends on fast handoffs, customer trust and repeated one-on-one interactions, especially when loaner vehicles are involved. That makes the service lane a potential weak point if staff are expected to escort customers into vehicles without stronger safeguards or a second set of eyes.

RBM of Alpharetta declined to comment on whether it would change employee safety procedures. That silence leaves open the broader question raised by the case: how many local businesses depend on everyday routines that assume the person at the counter is there for a repair, not a crime. For workers across Forsyth County, the indictment is a reminder that ordinary errands can create extraordinary risk when basic security checks are thin.