Commissioner’s son was arrested 12 times before 3-year-old’s death

A man who hit and killed a 3-year-old boy in the parking lot of a northeast Georgia grocery store has a near 20-year history of drug- and alcohol-related arrests and is the son of a White County commissioner, according to Channel 2 Action News.

James Holcomb’s criminal record dates to 1998, the television station reported. During that span, he was arrested 12 times, including a September 2016 drug-related incident in which witnesses say his own child was seen wandering in a motel parking lot.

Holcomb, the 36-year-old son of White County Commissioner Lyn Holcomb, was denied bond at a hearing Thursday, two days after the Georgia State Patrol said he hit Easton Cain as the boy stood behind a parked SUV in the Ingles parking lot on Helen Highway.

Easton was pinned between the front of Holcomb’s 2005 Chevrolet Avalanche and the back of an unoccupied 2012 Ford Explorer, the GSP told Channel 2.

The grocery store is in Cleveland, about 80 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.

At the time of the crash, Holcomb was out on bond for the September incident, according to Channel 2. He faces vehicular homicide, DUI, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license charges in Easton’s death.

The child’s family cried and held up photos during the hearing, the television station reported.

“He's not just another kid,” Easton’s uncle Emory Cain said. “He was a person. He had a personality. He was, you know, full of life.”

The Cleveland police chief almost broke down as well as he testified that witnesses pulled an “incoherent, slumped over” Holcomb from the car.

“The witnesses actually put the vehicle in reverse and backed the vehicle off the child,” Chief John Foster said.

Easton Cain, 3, was standing behind a parked SUV on Tuesday when the Georgia State Patrol said James Holcomb struck the child in the Ingles parking lot on Helen Highway in Cleveland. (Credit: Family photo)

A GoFundMe page was created to raise money for the child's family. Since the page was created, people have donated more than $35,000. The goal is $50,000.