Jacob Etheridge

Name:
Etheridge, Jacob

Date of Booking:
11/06/2025

Reason(s) For Booking:
THEFT BY SHOPLIFTING – FELONY

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On November 6, 2025, at 1404 hours I, Officer Lewis, was dispatched to 130 Perimeter Center W in reference to a shoplifting call.

While enroute to the location, Officers were advised on the description of the vehicle, a red Ford Explorer SUV, leaving the location traveling eastbound on Perimeter Ctr W towards Ashford Dunwoody Rd. Officers were also given a description of the individuals leaving the store as 1 one black male with a red beanie and black jacket and 1 white male wearing a white t-shirt. I spotted the vehicle turning on to Ashford Dunwoody Road heading into Perimeter mall parking lot where the vehicle stopped and 2 people got out of the vehicle and began running.

I followed the black male that matched the description who ran behind the cheesecake factory of Perimeter Mall where after giving verbal commands I displayed my Taser. The male ran behind a trash dumpster and got on the ground and complied with commands to be handcuffed. The male, later identified as Royal Reed, was detained at 1410 hours and placed in handcuffs on the rear of his person. The cuffs were double locked and checked for proper fit as well. Sgt Bradley conducted a pat down of Reed to check for weapons.

Officer Estes followed the male matching the description, identified as Jacob Etheridge, that was given who complied with commands to get on the ground. Officer Estes also directed the driver of the vehicle, identified as Cole Hollander, to get out of the car where both males were detained and placed in handcuffs on the rear of their persons. The cuffs were double locked and checked for proper fit as well.

Reed and Hollander were transported back to Academy in my patrol vehicle to collect video footage of the incident. The video footage showed one black male (Reed) and one white male (Etheridge) enter the store at 1347 hours and begin selecting items that were placed in a cart. The males attempted to leave the store with the cart passing all points of sale before they were stopped by a store employee. The video footage shows Etheridge leaving at 1355 hours and Reed leaving at the same time a few seconds wearing a pair of red and white Nike Air Max shoes which were taken from the box in the store. Both males got into a red Ford Explorer (GA tag [REDACTED]) driven by another male, Hollander.

All offenders were transported back to PD headquarters where they were placed in the transport van and transported down to DeKalb County Jail and accepted with no issues.

Items that were located on Reed were submitted into evidence since Academy could not confirm whether they were taken from the store. The store employee, [REDACTED], advised they would have someone email over the video when available. Case information was provided.

All three offenders were charged with felony theft by shoplifting (warrant # 25W018914, 25W018915, 25W018916).

[End of Narrative]