Oconee Fire Captain Assaulted While Working Security at Athens Kmart

An Oconee County volunteer firefighter was expected to be released from Athens Regional Medical Center Tuesday after being treated for stab wounds he sustained during an escalated shoplifting incident at the Barnett Shoals Road in Athens where he was working as a security guard.

The scuffle started when two men allegedly tried to steal about $250 worth of electronics from the store around 7:45 p.m. Monday, according to a news release issued by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.  Both tried to escape through the door when confronted, but Jason Still, who was working as a loss prevention officer, stopped one of the suspects, police said. The man reportedly pulled a knife and stabbed Still multiple times before fleeing on foot, the news release stated. The Athens Banner-Herald reported that Still had been stabbed in the chest. Officers located the man behind a residence on Dennis Drive and took him into custody, police said.

James Cornelius McLeroy, 31, of Winterville, was charged with aggravated assault, theft by shoplifting, giving false information, and obstruction.

As of  early Tuesday afternoon, a second shoplifting suspect had not been located.  A Nixle message Monday said police were on the lookout for a 16-year-old white male.

Still is a captain of Station 8 Barber Creek.  He was doing fine and was expected to be on his way home Tuesday morning, Oconee County Deputy Fire Chief Mark Melvin said in an email.

More than two dozen posters have sent well wishes to Still on the Oconee County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.