ELIZABETHTON — A man suspected of shoplifting a pair of tennis shoes dropped a 5-year-old boy on a concrete floor and abandoned him at Walmart over the weekend while he was being pursued by security officers.
Jonathan L. Chapman, 29, 282 Spice Hollow Road, Lot 2, was arrested in the store’s parking lot on charges of child abuse and shoplifting. The child’s father, Thomas Wilson, said he had asked Chapman to watch the boy while he went to look for the child’s mother inside the store. Wilson said his son has Down Syndrome.
Elizabethton Police Officer Joe Holsclaw said he was dispatched to Walmart at 7 p.m. Friday on a call about a man throwing a child on the floor while running from loss prevention officer Scott Elliott.
When Holsclaw arrived, he spoke with Elliott about the incident. Elliott told him he saw Chapman take a pair of tennis shoes and attempt to leave the store. When Elliott identified himself as a security officer, he said Chapman grabbed the child out of the shopping cart. He then put the boy on the floor, holding on to his arm. He said Chapman then began dragging the boy through the front of the store in the area behind the cash registers.
After dragging the boy, the security guard said Chapman didn’t have a good grasp on the boy’s arm, so he put him down and got a better grip. Then he continued dragging the boy for several more feet. Elliott said Chapman finally slung the boy up in the air, but the boy then fell hard onto the concrete floor.
Police officers began searching the parking lot for Chapman and Holsclaw said they found him lying down in the front seat of his car. Holsclaw said he still had the tennis shoes in his possession.
Holsclaw said he reviewed the security camera video of the incident from the time when the security officer identified himself to Chapman through the scenes where he allegedly dragged the child and tossed him.
Chapman is scheduled to answer the charges in Sessions Court on Nov. 30.
speakthetruth writes:
September 20, 2012
10:32 AM
All for a cheap pair of buddies from walmart. That boy must have really wanted that pair of Voits!!! lol
tanda881 writes:
September 20, 2012
1:35 PM
well i think you are wrong in fact that is what kills me today about people they go by what someone else says not the actual facts in my opinon i think you just dont get anything, actually i think you think you are cool in trying to turn stuff around yourself, i think you just need to mind your own buisness.
grafter 34 writes:
September 20, 2012
5:51 PM
However I am glad to hear that the child was uninjured.
tanda881 writes:
September 20, 2012
5:55 PM
yes he was uninjured like i said, he is doing fine. If this would have happened the way it explained than he probally would of been injured dont you think. I was there and saw the whole thing, johnathan knows he made a mistake and is man enough to admit that, i am just sick and tired of everyones comments and dont know anything about it but what this report said
moon31304 writes:
September 20, 2012
6:17 PM
Wow...I can't imagine th stress this family must be going thru without the added drama of fighting online. The only advice I could offer here is that everything you post is public. There are some things you can't take back.
tanda881 writes:
September 20, 2012
6:22 PM
see that is what kills me the childs mother,( my wife) was not even at walmart she was at home, i called her as soon as it happend see that is the fact not a lie from this report. I never told anyone i was looking for my wife. Yes i agree with you moon this is ridicolus, people go on news reports not facts.
ladivolfan writes:
September 20, 2012
7:08 PM
If you read the story and then read the comments here (weeding out the childishness and attempt to pull out what appears to be fact) a likely story begins to appear. Chapman shoplifted, was caught and he ran. Grabbing the child, was likely an attempt to ensure the child stayed with him. The child falling was likely a result of trying to elude the security officer and not an attempt to harm the child. The security officer likely embellished his story. That statement is based on personal experience as I was married to a loss prevention officer of several Tri Cities companies for years and I know that they do not always state the facts. But back to Chapman....he hid inside a car and still had the tennis shoes with him which shows that he probably does have limited mental capacity, but he was hiding, which proves he is intelligent enough to know right from wrong. Bottom line? The story JCP printed is much more intesting than what likely happened.
tanda881 writes:
September 20, 2012
7:13 PM
iwanttoknow....well ill let you know i was inside the store when it happened and everything that this report says is not true just like ladivolfan writes, i myself know that johnathan would not hurt anybody because i have known him for some time now. But the report that is being mentioned above is not all facts, there are mostly lies in it.
tnmomma15 writes:
September 20, 2012
7:19 PM
JC Press investigates and prints the truth??? That isn't even Johnathan's address.
tanda881 writes:
September 20, 2012
7:30 PM
like i said my son is fine, so why dont you leave it alone mind your own buisness. i am tired of everyone running there mouths it is ridicolus.
tanda881 writes:
September 20, 2012
7:31 PM
and sorry tnmomma15 not always does johnson city press always get the truth if you want to know. I actually talked to the reporter that wrote this and is very interested in hearing the other side you know the "truth" so mind your own buisness.
tnmomma15 writes:
September 20, 2012
7:41 PM
That was written in the for of a question to undermine the press not you. I've posted on this forum in support of you not against you.
tnmomma15 writes:
September 20, 2012
7:42 PM
Sorry form not for. Mistyped it.
tanda881 writes:
September 20, 2012
7:48 PM
i understand tnmomma15 like is said just a little diffrent because everyone is against me and all i am saying is if johnathan had done what this said he would of done than my son would have gotten injured. but you know what my son is fine and dandy not even a scratch so i thank you for your support.
tanda881 writes:
September 20, 2012
9:20 PM
why dont you leave your buisness to your self truthful, it was all said and done and now another idiot has to put there two sense into something that isnt there buisness
Gypsy writes:
September 21, 2012
4:29 AM
OK, I am a neighbor of the people in the article above. 1st the address is incorrect in the above article. 2nd I know John and although he is slow, I would not judge him to mentally disabled, although he is legally blind.. He is a very caring person and is very good to Thomas's children and the child of his girl friend. In my opinion, I believe that he was not trying to hurt the child and that setting him in the floor and running was more of a reflex. If he had been drug and then thrown, he would have been in much worse shape. I saw the child as soon as he got home and can also verify that he was unharmed and in good spirits when he got home. John was scared, and his first reaction was to run. I personally know the children in question and they are taken care of.He made a mistake, and is very remorseful of it.
3rd I can personally verify that the mother was not at walmart at the time of the incident. Due to the fact that I am the one that arranged a ride for her to get to her child. Lastly the only thing the fact that he still had the shoes in his possession when they found him proves that he didn't take time to remove the shoes before the flight response took over.
Gypsy writes:
September 21, 2012
4:31 AM
Please excuse the typos. it was late when I wrote this.
EaTn writes:
September 21, 2012
6:13 AM
Gypsy, thanks for what appears to be an honest statement. If stores didn't have some type of security, folks would be carting stuff out by the carloads. I think if I were a store owner, the decision to active pursue a security breach would be professionally weighed against the situation, cost of possible loss, cost of prosecution and pr and just plain empathy for the less fortunate in the community. But then that's just me.
Gypsy writes:
September 21, 2012
6:35 AM
I can only speak on the things that I know to be fact. I was not at the store during the incident. John is not a bad person, only someone who made a wrong choice and has clearly expressed his remorse. My hope is that he learns his lesson from this and that the courts show leniency. I can honestly say that John loves Thomas's children and that I do not believe that he would intentionally harm them or any other child.
tanda881 writes:
September 21, 2012
6:49 AM
thank you gypsy for telling the truth and yes you are my neighbor but you are also my friend, and this article just makes john look bad for the person that he is not. Honestly dont think for one minute if he meant to hurt my son i would be furious but my son like you said was in good spirits and was unharmed, this whole mess has gotten blown out of portion and i am glad that someone stepped up and told these people there opinion about the situation.
Gypsy writes:
September 21, 2012
10:38 AM
Ok, apparently you have seen the camera. I would like for you to post a link to the site where you were able to watch it, due to the fact that I have searched for it, and the video is not online. You people act like you have all the facts and you don't. As I stated, the man has problems seeing, and is a bit slow. He does not have mental disability. So before you make asinine comments, you should be sure that you have the facts.
tanda881 writes:
September 21, 2012
10:58 AM
yeah like gypsy said evidentally all you hypacrits have seen the camera footage talking about a camera dont lie, well where is the link for it, you know what i dont need to see the footage i was there and saw the footage and nothing like what they are saying happened that way.
tanda881 writes:
September 21, 2012
11:13 AM
but did you see the video stratman1956 no you didnt i was there and was a witness so why are you judging when you have no facts either
Gypsy writes:
September 21, 2012
11:47 AM
As I have said in my previous post, John has been spoken to about what he did by the family involved. I was there and was involved in the discussion with him. He knows he made a huge error in judgement when he took the shoes, and he has expressed his remorse over the whole ordeal. I am confident that he has learned his lesson and will not be repeating the same mistake again. So as the Jesus said when they were going to stone the women accused of prostitution. " he who is without sin, cast the first stone"
tanda881 writes:
September 21, 2012
11:49 AM
you know what stratman1956 i did not leave my child with johnathan but for about 2 minutes and he did not hurt my son in anyway, so tell me what i have to blame him for yes he made a mistake and will deal with it but i am tired of you runnin your mouth where you dont have any buisness in the whole ordeal, so stay the heck out our buisness