More charges for alleged Wal-Mart kidnapper

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The man accused of grabbing a 7-year-old girl in a west Georgia Wal-Mart is now facing additional charges, police said Tuesday.

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Channel 2 Action News A man tries to take a child from a Wal-Mart in west Georgia.

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Channel 2 Action News, Channel 2 Action News A man tries to take a child from a Wal-Mart in west Georgia.

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Channel 2 Action News Brittney Baxter, 7, was not injured in an attempted abduction at a west Georgia Walmart.

Georgia Dept. of Corrections Thomas Andrew Woods, 25, was released from state prison in October after serving more than four years for a voluntary manslaughter conviction.

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Andrew Thomas Woods, 25, of Austell, was arrested last Wednesday and charged with attempted kidnapping after the Bremen store's surveillance cameras caught the incident. He now faces charges of false imprisonment, cruelty to children, simple assault, marijuana possession, and driving on a suspended license, a spokeswoman for the Haralson County Jail told the AJC.

Video from the store shows a man who appears to be Woods pick up Brittney Baxter and attempt to cover her mouth. But the second-grader kicked and screamed and the man put her down -- actions that police have said helped thwart a potentially a dangerous scenario.

Woods was on probation after his release from state prison in October, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. He served seven years for a voluntary manslaughter conviction in DeKalb County. Woods admitted to police that he killed his uncle in July 2004 and was initially charged with homicide, according to court records.

But the confession was made before the attorney he requested was present, violating his Fifth Amendment rights, and Woods pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, a lesser charge than homicide.

Woods waived his first court appearance Friday. He remained Tuesday in the Haralson County Jail, where he is being held without bond.