North Fulton County

Man charged with taking pictures up woman's skirt inside a local Walmart store

MILTON, Ga. — Milton police have taken out warrants for a north Georgia man who they said took pictures up a woman’s skirt.

Ami Tuckley told Channel 2's Mike Petchenik she was browsing the aisles of the Walmart on Windward Parkway on Monday when she noticed a man looking at her.

“I went to the next aisle. He happened to follow me there,” she said. “I kind of glanced at him and turned my back to him and I felt a presence behind me.”

That’s when Tuckley said she heard two “clicks” and realized the man had just put his arm up her skirt.

“My first instinct was to grab my phone and find him and get a picture of him, which I did because I want to put his face out there,” she said. “After I took his picture I yelled, ‘How does it feel? I’m going to put your picture all over the internet.’”

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Tuckley said the man ran out of the store and she and her husband approached a Milton officer sitting in his car outside the store to tell him what happened.

“He immediately started searching the parking lot,” she said. “We went inside and asked for security.”

Tuckley said she assumed the officer had taken enough information to file a report, and she then posted the man’s picture on the NextDoor app.

“The community was great. The response on Nextdoor was great, saying we’re going to repost and look out for him,” she said.

That’s where a Channel 2 Action News employee saw the post and sent it to Petchenik, who forwarded the post to Milton police.

Detectives said they were unaware of the incident and sent investigators to interview Tuckley and to gather surveillance pictures from the store, which Petchenik tweeted Wednesday night.

“I felt bad when they came to my house afterwards and said next time call 911 and I said, ‘Well, I did tell an officer. He was in the parking lot. I did tell Walmart,’” Tuckley said.

The head of Milton police criminal investigations said the officer felt the Tuckleys didn’t have enough information to take a report, but conceded he should have asked more questions.

Police said Thursday, that a detective in Gilmer County saw the story online and contacted Milton with the name of the suspect whom he arrested last month for the same offense.

“He’s a predator. He’s a low-life predator,” Tuckley said. “I want it to stop. I want to find him.”

Late Thursday, police said they had issued arrest warrants for 27-year-old James Barron, of Ellijay.

“It’s changed how I feel and how I act,” Tuckley said. “He took that from me and I don’t like that.”