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Written by: E. George
Published February 21, 2024 @ 3:30 PM ET
HALL COUNTY, Ga. – Oakwood Police officers arrested a 71-year-old Gainesville man on January 21, 2024, and charged him with sexual battery for assaulting a female Walmart employee. Responding officers met with the victim in the loss prevention office of the Mundy Mill Road Walmart, and she described the January 14 incident.
The victim explained that she observed an older white male who appeared to be wandering and thought he might need assistance locating an item. When she asked if he needed help, he told her he “was a Walmart employee, but worked overnight” and “just likes to say hello to everyone before going home.”
He followed her and said, “If she ever needed anything, he was good with help.” She smiled and continued to work.
Remaining nearby, he “made a comment about a guy walking around the store wearing shorts with his pretty legs out and stated he (referring to himself) is not gay, but if the guy had his pretty rear out, he (again referring to himself) would be running around naked.”
Unsettled, she brushed off the strange comment and continued working. He apologized and said he “just loves getting smiles from people.”
He pointed out a nearby coworker and stated that she always gives him hugs, and brought up that it was his birthday soon. She wished him a happy early birthday and informed him that she was on a clock.
The officers noted, “Even though [she] was clearly trying to disengage with the man, he then asked her for a hug.” He walked up closely to her, and before she could react, the man was giving her a hug.
She told the officers she awkwardly hugged back, not knowing what else to do. The man stepped back, placed his hand on his chest, breathing heavily, and told her “to keep smiling – it really gets him.”
He continued to breathe heavily, and she noticed that he became “sexually aroused.” She felt “extremely uncomfortable, and before she could leave, the man again got close to her, put his arms around her waist, pulled her tight to him, and then intentionally positioned himself so she could feel his erection on her leg.”
She said, “The man did this while making a sexual innuendo of how he has a big truck if she ever needs anything, which she interpreted as him referencing the size of his penis.” The victim stated that she has past trauma involving sexual assault and was beginning to panic.
She walked away from him, but he continued to follow her, asking questions about where and with whom she lived. He finally left her alone and walked away when a customer entered the aisle.
When she informed her coworkers of the incident, they knew to whom she was referring because he is there almost every morning. They said, “He never buys anything, just walks around talking to people, and is known to be flirty with females.”
The victim added that he had worn the same tracksuit every time she had seen him, which was a black coat and pants with a red strip on each side.
She said he approached her the following Wednesday, January 17, and again started to make the strange remark about the guy in shorts before he realized he had already made that remark to her. She said this time, [she] immediately left and went into a private room.
She reported the incident to her supervisors on January 21, and they asked her to provide a written statement. When she saw him again that morning, she felt like she was not safe and contacted the police.
She provided a written statement for the officers, and the store manager submitted her previous statement as well. The officers viewed the security footage and witnessed the incidents as the victim described them.
The officers noted, “In the video, it looks like the man drops his hip and thrusts into her.” They viewed footage of the store’s exterior and identified the suspect’s vehicle.
The suspect returned to the store, and the officers approached and arrested him. They noticed that he was wearing the same tracksuit that [the victim] described.
The suspect, Hershel Wayne Holcomb, denied having any sort of sexual interaction with anyone, and when they asked him if he remembered hugging anyone, he stated he never did anything like that. He told them he comes to the Walmart every morning because his doctor wanted him to get more exercise, so he just walks around the Walmart and says hello to people.
The officers contacted Holcomb’s stepdaughter to retrieve his vehicle from the parking lot. They criminally trespassed him from the store and transported him to the Hall County Jail.
This case is pending.
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 January 21, 2024 I received a call around 7:22am that a man had just left the Walmart in Oakwood, and that the man had previously molested one of Walmart’s employees. Myself and Sgt. Weber #515 arrived on scene where we were met by a store manager. He told us that we were there to see one of his employees and he would call her to meet with us. When she arrived I asked if she wished to speak in private and she said yes, and the manager allowed us to use the loss prevention office. The manager left to give us privacy and I asked the victim, [REDACTED BY AGENCY], what happened.
[REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated that the previous Sunday (January 14) between 6am and 7am while she was working she saw an older white male who appeared to be wandering and thought he might need assistance locating an item. She asked the male if he needed any help, and the male responded that he was a Walmart employee, but worked overnight and that he just likes to say hello to everyone before going home. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated that the man began to follow her and told her that if she ever needed anything he was good with help.
[REDACTED BY AGENCY] said she smiled and continued working. The man then made a comment about a guy walking around the store wearing shorts with his pretty legs out and stated he (referring to himself) is not g*y, but if the guy had his pretty rear out he (again referring to himself) would be running around naked.
[REDACTED BY AGENCY] brushed off the strange comment and continued working. The man then apologized and stated he just loves getting smiles from people. The man then pointed out a nearby co-worker of [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and stated that she always gives him hugs, and brought up that it was his birthday soon. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] said she wished him a happy early birthday, but she was on a clock.
Even though [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was clearly trying to disengage with the man, he then asked her for a hug. The man got close to [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and before she could react then man was giving her a hug. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated she awkwardly hugged back not knowing what else to do. The man then stepped back, put his hand on his chest breathing heavily, and told [REDACTED BY AGENCY] to keep smiling, it really gets him.
The man continued breathing heavily and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] described him as sexually arroused. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated she was extremely uncomfortable and before she could leave the man again got close to her, put his arms around her waist, pulls her tight to him, and then intentionally positioned himself so she could feel his erection on her leg. The man did this while making a sexual innuendo of how he has a big truck if she ever needs anything, which she interpretted as him referencing the size of his p*nis. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated that she has past trauma involving sexual assault and was beginning to panic.
She walked away but the man continued to follow her. Now asking her questions like where does she live, and who does she live with. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated she did not know what else to do other than focus on anything but the man and it was only when another customer came into the isle that the man left her alone and walked away.
[REDACTED BY AGENCY] brought the incident up to other co-workers who stated they knew the man she was talking about becuas he is there almost every morning. He never buys anything, just walks around talking to people, and is known to be flirty with females. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated that he had worn the same track suit every time she has seen him, which was a black coat and pants with a red strip on each side. The following Wednesday (January 17), [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was working and the male approached her again, and again started to make the strange remark about the guy in shorts before he realized he had already made that remark/joke to her.
This time [REDACTED BY AGENCY] immediately left and went to a private room. On January 21, [REDACTED BY AGENCY] expressed her concerns with her supervisors and they had her do a written statement regarding the incident. When [REDACTED BY AGENCY] saw the man again the morning of this report (Jan 21), she felt like she was not safe and contacted the police.
After hearing everything [REDACTED BY AGENCY] had to say I asked her if she would be willing to provide a written statement, which she agreed to, and the store manager said he could get me her original statement she made the previous day as well. While [REDACTED BY AGENCY] worked on her statement, the store manager and I reviewed video footage of the incident. There was no audio with the video but I was able to see everything that occurred. Everything occurred how [REDACTED BY AGENCY] described it.
The man was wandering around the pharmacy area when [REDACTED BY AGENCY] walked by, you see him take an extra look at her and then decide to follow her down an aisle. The talk for a minute before he goes in for the first hug, you can see by [REDACTED BY AGENCY]’s body language that she’s not comfortable, and then he goes close for the second “hug” and in the video it looks like the man drops his hip and thrusts into her. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] walks away and the man continues following her. Based on the video and [REDACTED BY AGENCY]’s statement, I felt probable cause had been established to charge the male suspect with Sexual Battery misdemeanor).
I then reviewed video from the store’s entrances to get a look at the male as he walked in. We were able to locate him going through the ‘Grocery’ entrance. We then reviewed the outter cameras that show the parking lot and followed the man from the entrance back to his vehicle (watching video in reverse). The video shows the man arriving in a silver pickup truck.
Sgt Weber checked FLOCK, a tag reading camera system, since Walmart owns a camera we have access to which is posted on an entrance road off Mundy Mill Rd (across from Mathis Dr). He was not able to locate the vehicle from the incident date but he was able to locate it for the morning of January 21. It was a silver Toyota Tundra, with Ga tag [REDACTED], and returned to a Hershel Holcomb. His driver’s license photo was a match for the man walking into the store the morning of the incident.
With the Holcomb Identified, and probable cause to charge him with Sexual Battery, Sgt. Weber and I went to leave to obtain the warrants, but we were stopped by the store manager who stated that Holcomb was back in the store. We returned inside the store and made contact with Holcomb. I explained the situation to him and placed him under arrest for Sexual Battery. I handcuffed him, checked for fit, double locked, brought him to my patrol car, and searched him incident to arrest. Holcomb was wearing the same track suit that [REDACTED BY AGENCY] described.
I mirandized Holcomb and he agreed to speak with me. I told him about the incident and where I was at in my investigation. Holcomb stated he comes to the Walmart every morning because his doctor wanted him to get more exercise, so he just walks around the Walmart and says hello to people. He denied having any sort of sexual interaction with anyone. I asked him if he remembers hugging any of the employees and he stated he never did anything like that.
We were able to get in touch with Holcomb’s step-daughter to pick up his vehicle. I submitted a criminal trespass form stating Hershel Holcomb could not return to the Oakwood Walmart, and a copy was given to Walmart and Holcomb. I then transported Holcomb to the Hall County Jail and released him to the deputies on duty. I applied for the Sexual Battery warrant through the online warrant system and it was later approved. I linked copies of both written statements from [REDACTED BY AGENCY] (1 for Walmart, the other for PD). The video saved to a disc needs to be formatted differently in order to be played. I notified Detective Campbell, OPD, and he stated he would take care of that so I could link the video to this report.
[End of Narrative]