Holly Springs manhunt: Man flees after Walmart outburst, leaves his 4-year-old in peril

HOLLY SPRINGS, Ga. - A man was arrested after he went on a wild and dangerous ride through a parking lot and then ran from the police. Investigators say the whole time the man had a 4-year-old boy with him.

Holly Springs Police say it all started just after 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the checkout lane at Walmart. Investigators say the man’s credit card was denied several times, and that made him so angry that he stormed out of the store, and sped out of the parking lot.

"Officers got a call to Walmart about a male that was irate and boisterous," said Holly Springs Police Cpl. Cori Hubeli.

Deonte Stodghill (Cherokee County Sheriff's Office)

Police say the man, later identified as 27-year-old Deonte Stodghill, had a 4-year-old boy with him at the time. Investigators say Stodghill jumped in his car with the child and drove erratically through the Walmart parking lot.

"He lost control of his vehicle, hit a shopping cart that a woman was unloading from into her vehicle," said Cpl. Hubeli.

Police say Stodghill then hit a parked car and raced down Holly Springs Parkway, where he crashed into a ditch. He couldn’t drive out, so he grabbed the little boy and took off running across the road into the woods.

"The guy with the baby, he escaped this way, around the house into the woods," said Andy Patel, who saw the man run across the road.

The parking lot of the Holly Springs Walmart. (FOX 5)

Police say there were drones, dogs, and dozens of officers looking for him.

"GSP provided their helicopter and Cherokee Sheriff’s Office provided units to set up a perimeter along with their K-9 units," said Cpl. Hubeli.

Police say at some point, Stodghill abandoned the little boy.

"He was located on the train tracks by himself, luckily an officer was right there when the boy was located, and the officer was able to get him to safety," said Cpl. Hubeli.

A photo showing the end of a car chase involving police in Holly Springs on Oct. 29, 2023. (Supplied)

Stodghill was later found near the woods. He was arrested with more than a dozen charges against him.

"DUI and child endangerment, child abandonment and serious injury by vehicle for the woman hit in the parking lot, on top of 10 other charges," said Cpl. Hubeli.

Police said the woman in the parking lot is doing better. The little boy is with his mom and is OK.