A North Georgia man navigated rooms and hallways of a Cobb County hotel in December, attacking guests and nearly choking a police officer to death, prosecutors said.
Nine months later, Kelly M. Holcomb, 37, of Cave Spring, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he was found guilty of going on a rampage at the Deerfield Lodge in Acworth, where he injured several people and knocked the officer’s tooth out, according to a release from the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.
“Your bad decisions have led us here,” Cobb County Superior Court Judge Jason D. Marbutt told Holcomb during his sentencing this month. He was also given five years of probation and ordered to have no contact with the victims, prosecutors said.
On Dec. 17, officers responded to the hotel on Lake Acworth Drive after receiving a call that Holcomb was running around naked and screaming, according to Acworth police. Officers learned he had allegedly assaulted guests and illegal drug use was suspected, prosecutors said.
Holcomb said he was “going to kill someone,” according to an arrest warrant.
Acworth Officer Taniesha Palarche was the first member of law enforcement to respond that evening. According to authorities, she tried to calm Holcomb down, but he started attacking another man before setting his sights on her. During the fight, he struck Palarche in the face and choked her, police said. He also tried to gouge her eyes out with his thumbs, the DA’s office stated.
“Palarche continued to do her job of protecting the residents,” prosecutors said. “One of the residents assisted Palarche and she was able to get away.”
After Palarche requested backup, Holcomb assaulted other officers who arrived on the scene, kicking one of them in the leg, the warrant stated. They then used a Taser and attempted to restrain him several times.
Paramedics later arrived and administered a sedative to calm him down, according to police. He was taken to a hospital and was booked into the Cobb County jail two days later upon his release.
During an investigation, police learned Holcomb had broken into another room at the hotel, where he punched a man and a woman. The woman had “massive swelling” to her forehead and the bottom part of her left eye, while the man had swelling to his right cheek, the warrant stated.
Holcomb was previously arrested in March 2009 after he allegedly threw rocks at the windshields of five vehicles at a plant nursery in Cobb, causing $1,600 in damage, a warrant stated.
“Accused had made a statement that they should go to the business and do something in retaliation for his friend having to move,” police stated in the warrant.
Holcomb was found guilty on charges from the hotel incident that included aggravated battery/aggravated assault on a peace officer, two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of obstruction of an officer. He was also convicted of first-degree burglary, aggravated assault and misdemeanor battery charges and was sentenced Sept. 9.
“I’m thankful for the bystanders that helped Officer Palarche and the other victims in this case,” Assistant District Attorney Nolan Slifko said. “This case shows the dangers of drug use and the harmful consequences it has not just for the user but the individuals surrounding them.”
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