From ABC 8 News:
"A back door of one of the businesses had yellow pry marks, and officers saw swastikas, “MAGA” and racial slurs on the walls inside in what appeared to be fresh black spray paint, the (press) release said. Some of the booth cushions were sliced open, mirrors were broken, wires were cut and a video surveillance system was broken.Wow. What a cunning chess master. Also in the press release:
Coughman told officers he noticed the damage and theft earlier in the day and called his insurance company but not police. Officers concluded the damage hadn’t actually happened earlier in the day and arrested Coughman on charges of false report of a crime, insurance fraud and concealing a license plate.
After getting a search warrant for Coughman’s truck, officers searched it Thursday afternoon and found a yellow crowbar and cans of black spray paint."
“It appears as though Edawn conjured a premeditated plan to damage his own property, attempt to make it appear as a hate crime, file a claim with his insurance company, and sell off the undamaged appliances and electronics...”Coughman is out on bond awaiting trial.
As an offensive tackle in the NFL from 2012-16, Coughman had several short stints with multiple NFL teams including the Seattle Seahawks, Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He never started any games and mostly played on practice squads or as a backup throughout his entire career. He is currently a free agent.
Coughman has run afoul of the law a few times before. According to Heavy.com:
"Edawn Coughman co-owned the Kompass Rose Bar and Grill, formerly known as Anchor Bar, with his business partner and former Dallas Cowboy Uche Nwaneri in Lindbergh, Georgia. Nwaneri was arrested in 2016 and charged with selling liquor after hours and selling liquor without a license.There have been multiple shooting incidents outside of the Kompass Rose Grille/Anchor Bar throughout the years. The most high profile is that of Taylor Hayden, sister of Minnesota state Sen. Jeff Hayden. Taylor was murdered in the crossfire of a drug deal gone bad outside of the bar. Her killer was never found as witnesses of the crime refused to cooperate with Atlanta police.
...This wasn’t the first time Coughman and Nwaneri had been arrested for illegal business operations. WSB-TV Atlanta reported that the two had received five city ordinance violations in under a year and that “during those arrests both men were in possession of cocaine.”