An argument over suspected meth use in a bedroom closet ended with an Oakwood man in handcuffs, after police say the 35-year-old bit his wife while their teenage daughter recorded the confrontation on her cellphone. Responding officers reported finding the woman with bite marks and visible redness on her face and arms.
Hall County booking records list the suspect as 35-year-old Justin Mark Shultz, who was taken into custody on May 23. He faces a felony battery charge and three counts of cruelty to children, and his bond was set at $9,600. Shultz was booked into the Hall County Jail on May 23 and remains there pending further proceedings, according to KIRO 7.
Police say closet confrontation over drugs got physical
Oakwood police told WSB-TV the trouble started when Shultz’s wife confronted him about smoking what she believed was methamphetamine in a closet and asked him to flush it. She told the station she put her foot in the doorway to keep the door from closing, and that Shultz allegedly pushed her, tried to bite her, threw her to the floor, then went into the bathroom and refused to let her see him dispose of the substance.
What the charges mean
Prosecutors added the cruelty-to-children counts in part because the couple’s minor daughter both witnessed and recorded the altercation, according to investigators. Under Georgia law, cruelty to children includes causing or allowing a child to witness battery or other family violence and can carry penalties that range from misdemeanors to years in prison depending on the degree; the statute is outlined in O.C.G.A. § 16-5-70, while the state’s battery statutes are defined in O.C.G.A. § 16-5-23.1.
Children and domestic violence
Advocates say children who witness family violence can suffer long-term emotional and behavioral harm, and statewide reviews have found thousands of Georgia children are exposed to domestic violence every year. The Georgia Commission on Family Violence has estimated that more than 12,000 children in the state are exposed to domestic violence annually, according to the Georgia Commission on Family Violence’s fatality review report.
Shultz remains in the Hall County Jail on the bond listed in online records, and his case is expected to move through the local court system in the coming weeks, according to KIRO 7. This story will be updated if new court filings or official statements are released.
