Inset: Quantraves Hall (Warner Robins Police Department). Background: A state office building where employees were falsely imprisoned in Warner Robins, Ga. (Google Maps).
A Georgia prison guard imprisoned social welfare workers in a rage over child support payments, Peach State law enforcement say.
Quantraves Hall, 25, stands accused of four counts each of false imprisonment and terroristic threats and acts, according to the Houston County Sheriff”s Office.
The underlying incident occurred late last week at the Georgia Department of Family and Child Services (DFCS) offices on Cohen Walker Drive in Warner Robins – a medium-sized city located some 20 miles due south of Macon – according to local police.
On Dec. 18, Hall allegedly showed up at the offices upset about his child support payments, according to an incident report obtained by Macon-based CBS and The CW affiliate WMAZ.
After bursting into the building, the defendant turned around and locked the front door, preventing four employees from leaving, police said. Then, Hall allegedly began berating the employees in question. The defendant allegedly continued to grouse over his child support obligations, cursed at the state workers, and even tried to enter a restricted, employees-only area of the building, police added.
Eventually, the defendant was removed from the building by security.
Police arrived soon thereafter and interviewed the employees.
“While speaking with staff it was clear they were all visibly upset,” the incident report reads.
One of the DFCS employees was hyperventilating and had to sit down during their interview, according to law enforcement.
By the time police arrived, however, Hall had already left the scene.
The defendant later showed up at the police station on his own accord and agreed to speak with investigators, police said.
Hall, for his part, admittedly locked the door – but, in his defense, said he also unlocked the door, according to the police report. The defendant also accepted culpability for cursing at the DFCS employees and trying to access the restricted area, police said.
But Hall would become argumentative over the course of that interview, police said. The defendant allegedly questioned the charges leveled against him and refused to provide the name of his then-Georgia Department of Corrections supervisor.
The next day, however, it became a moot point as Hall was fired by the state after being charged.
“We remain steadfast in our zero-tolerance policy toward anyone who violates their oath and undermines our essential mission of public safety,” the prison agency said in a statement obtained by the TV station. “The conduct of this individual in no way represents the professionalism and daily commitment of the hundreds of Officers who uphold the safety of the public and our facilities.”
The defendant was arrested and charged. After being detained in the Houston County Jail, Hall quickly posted bond.
No court dates are scheduled in the case as of this writing.
