Snellville Police are investigating a series of sexual assault incidents at a local Target store, with three separate occurrences raising alarm within the community. According to FOX 5 Atlanta, the episodes, which began in late March and extended into May, took place at the Target on the 1900 block of Scenic Highway. In the initial incident, a woman alleged that a man, later identified as Devon Breandre Thomas, approached her and "touched her genitals and ran away." Police cornered Thomas near the store, where he claimed he "was not bound by our laws," before a pursuit ensued and officers deployed Tasers to apprehend him. Thomas faces charges of sexual battery.
The subsequent two incidents involved illicit filming of women in the store's fitting rooms and restrooms. On May 1, a female shopper discovered a cell phone recording her as she tried on clothes, and just a week later another woman caught a man filming her in a restroom stall, he fled before he could be detained. While Josue Antonio Gomez has been arrested and connected to the fitting room case via facial recognition and security footage, the restroom recorder is still at large, described as wearing uniquely colored Crocs and sweatpants, as reported by Atlanta News First.
The police are urging anyone with information on these incidents to come forward. The Snellville Police Department is actively investigating with Target's cooperation, hoping security footage may shed further light on the unresolved case. Meanwhile, Target's patrons, particularly women, face the brunt of enduring such violations of privacy and safety in a place of convenience and commerce.
