A man charged with attacking an Army reservist outside a Clayton County Cracker Barrel is back in jail and facing felony charges.
Troy Dale West Jr., 47, was indicted Wednesday on charges of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, first degree cruelty to children, two counts of battery and two counts of disorderly conduct, Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson said.
Clayton County Superior Court Judge Geronda V. Carter issued a warrant for West Wednesday morning and then denied him bond.
West is charged with beating and kicking Tashawnea Hill as she walked out of the Morrow restaurant on Sept. 9. Hill's 7-year-old daughter watched as West assaulted her mother while yelling racial slurs, police said.
According to the indictment, West used his "shoe-clad foot and hands" to cause serious bodily injury to Hill.
West also maliciously caused "cruel and excessive mental pain" to the child by assaulting and battering her mother in front of her while "using profane and vulgar language," the indictment reads.
About 150 people, including NAACP members and other civil rights activists, rallied at the courthouse Wednesday, urging the judge to deny bond for West.
Earlier this month, a Magistrate Court judge dismissed the only felony charge West faced and released him from jail.
That's when Lawson stepped in and launched an investigation into the crime, saying that it appeared to be more severe.
"Based upon a review of witness statements and the video, an indictment was presented to the grand jury and they rendered a true bill," Lawson said Wednesday.
The result means if convicted, West could face a decade in prison.
Cracker Barrel issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying the business is "pleased" the grand jury returned the indictment and will continue to work with the district attorney.
"Cracker Barrel is encouraged to know that its cooperation with authorities helped secure these indictments because Cracker Barrel wants to see justice served," the statement reads. "The company has provided the district attorney with surveillance video as part of this case. The video shows how Cracker Barrel came to the victim’s aid, and that a Cracker Barrel manager put himself in harm’s way to provide aid to the victim."
Cracker Barrel said company policy prohibits the release of the video to anyone but law enforcement. The district attorney said she is not releasing the surveillance video, which could be used as evidence in West's trial.
The attack occurred as Hill and her daughter were leaving the restaurant and West was walking inside. Hill told West to be careful after the door almost hit her child, police said.
West became enraged and then attacked the woman, Morrow police Capt. James Callaway said.
"She kept saying, ‘Sir, I'm a United States soldier, don't do this, ‘ " he said.
The FBI is also investigating the attack as a possible hate crime.
West runs Troy's Paint & Body & Auto Savage in Poulan in south Georgia, where he also lives.
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