An apparently disturbed man was arrested Aug. 12 after throwing fresh peaches, tomatoes, and glass jars containing preserved fruit at employees at Sherry’s Produce Stand in Tucker.
One employee, Harold McDaniel, who is known to his customers as Uncle Wayne, was slightly injured as the flying glass jars exploded at his feet.
Tina Harvey, whose family runs the popular fruit and vegetable stand at the corner of Brockett Road and Lawrenceville Highway, said she and other employees were shutting down the operation around 6 p.m. when she heard the sound of shattering glass.
“I didn’t think much of it until I heard Uncle Wayne shouting and I came out to see this young man throwing the jars of fruit, apple butter and chow-chow at him,” Harvey said. “Apparently, before he started throwing the jars, he was tossing peaches onto the roof.”
Harvey said the suspect didn’t say much, but was laughing throughout the attack.
“He didn’t say anything that I remember, but there was a lot of laughing out there,” Harvey said.
Harvey said her employees chased the man, who was described as a black male in his 20s, and started following him, while on the phone with 911. When the man reached the American Deli at 3950 Lawrenceville Highway, he turned and pulled up his shirt “as if he had a gun in his pants,” Harvey said.
The employees then beat a quick retreat and returned to the produce stand to clean up the debris.
Harvey said it took DeKalb Police almost two hours to respond to the call, but for good reason.
“We heard that police were answering other calls that involved this man,” she said. “He was apparently throwing large rocks at cars and there was another incident at McDonald’s.”
Police arriving at the scene told Harvey that the man was taken into custody, and might have been sent to a nearby hospital for evaluation. His identity at this time is not known.
She said she is grateful that nobody was seriously injured in the incident. Uncle Wayne was only five feet from the suspect when he started chucking the large jars at him.
“I mean, that dude had great aim, so I’m glad he chose to throw the jars at Uncle Wayne’s feet instead of his head,” she said. “He did hit Joey [another employee] in the head and the back with peaches, so he was capable of doing more. ”
Harvey said the family has no plans to tighten security at the stand after the random event.
“We’re just going to keep doing what we are doing and send out a prayer for this young man,” she said.
Rough Draft has reached out to the DeKalb Police to obtain the suspect’s identity and his criminal charges. Check back for updates.