Man Charged With Stalking After Following Mom, Kid Around Store

WOODSTOCK, GA — An Atlanta man has been charged with stalking after police saw him on video following a mother and daughter around a Woodstock Publix, often touching the girl on the arm.

Cherokee County Sheriff's deputies went to the Publix in Hickory Flat around 7 p.m. on Wednesday in reference to a hit-and-run that happened in the parking lot.

Deputies made contact with two people who explained a man driving a Chevrolet van had backed into their vehicle and then left the area. Several people in the parking lot approached the deputy and told him that the man driving the van had been following a mother and her daughter inside the Publix and continued to follow them into the parking lot.

The deputy made contact with the mother and daughter, and they confirmed that the man had been following them around the store talking to them, and began to make them feel uncomfortable. The deputy reviewed security footage inside the store and confirmed the man had been following the two through the store, and had touched the girl on her arm multiple times.

They explained they eventually were able to distance themselves from the man, but he continued to follow them, which eventually led to the parking lot where the hit-and-run occurred.

Investigators were notified of the incident. According to the tag information, the van was registered to Jamariel Wise, 29, of Atlanta. Later in the evening, the Woodstock Police Department made contact with Wise in their jurisdiction.

Wise was arrested and charged with hit-and-run, driving under the influence, felon in possession of a firearm, weaving over roadway, criminal trespass, loitering and prowling, reckless driving, too fast for conditions, improper lane change, driving with an expired tag and an equipment violation. Investigators with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office took additional charges against Wise on Thursday afternoon for two counts of stalking and simple battery.

Wise remains in custody at the Cherokee Adult Detention Center without bond.