A man is wanted by Douglasville Police after allegedly walking into the Hobby Lobby on Chapel Hill Road and exposing his genitals in front of a female shopper before driving off in a silver Ford Mustang. The incident happened on July 29, and investigators are still trying to track him down.
According to Atlanta News First, Douglasville Police said the man entered the craft store and exposed himself to the woman before leaving the scene. The Hobby Lobby sits within the busy Chapel Hill Road retail corridor near Interstate 20, a heavily traveled commercial strip that anchors major shopping developments alongside Target, Kohl's and Marshalls, according to a Riverwood Properties brochure describing the area.
Anyone with information about the suspect or his vehicle is asked to contact detectives at 678-293-1619, the report notes. Douglasville Police, led by Chief Gary Sparks and headquartered at 2083 Fairburn Road, is the primary agency investigating the case within city limits, per the Douglasville Police Department. Residents can also submit anonymous tips through the department's online portal or reach the main line at 770-920-3010 if they don't want to call detectives directly.
What Charges Could the Suspect Face?
Under Georgia Code § 16-6-8, lewd exposure of sexual organs in a public place is generally charged as a misdemeanor for a first or second offense, carrying up to 12 months in jail and fines as high as $1,000, according to legal reference site Justia Law. A third or subsequent conviction escalates the charge to a felony punishable by one to five years in state prison.
Georgia court precedent has established that commercial retail interiors, shopping center corridors and store parking lots qualify as a legal public place when the conduct occurs where other members of the public are present or likely to see it, per the Kevin R. Fisher Law firm. That legal standard is why an incident occurring inside a private business like Hobby Lobby can still be prosecuted as public indecency. Convictions can also carry serious collateral consequences, including potential mandatory sex offender registration depending on judicial findings and a defendant's prior record, according to the Law Offices of Blake A. Poole.
A Pattern Seen Elsewhere in Georgia
This isn't the first time a Georgia craft store has been the scene of an alleged indecent exposure. In August 2022, Canton Police investigated a similar incident at a Hobby Lobby on Cumming Highway, where detectives used internal surveillance footage to identify and charge a suspect under the same statute for allegedly exposing himself to a female shopper, according to the Canton Police Department.
Local police in Douglasville periodically increase patrol presence around major shopping centers along the corridor stretching from Chapel Hill Road to Douglas Boulevard and Highway 5 to manage commercial traffic and deter retail crime, per the Douglas County Sheriff's Office region's broader public-safety framework. While Douglasville Police lead the investigation within city limits, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, headquartered at 8470 Earl D. Lee Boulevard, provides countywide law enforcement support and maintains its own tipline for joint public safety efforts in the surrounding area.
It remains unclear whether Hobby Lobby's store or parking lot cameras captured a clear image of the suspect's face or the Mustang's license plate, and investigators have not said whether this case is connected to any other reported exposures in the region. Douglasville Police also hold quarterly town hall meetings in their Community Room at 2083 Fairburn Road to discuss active safety concerns, with sessions scheduled for August and November, offering another venue where residents can raise questions about the ongoing search.
