From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
TRUSSVILLE — The man who is alleged to have forcefully grabbed a 14-year-old girl in the parking lot of the Trussville Walmart is being charged with one count of first degree Sexual Abuse by Force and one count of second degree Sexual Abuse, according to Detective Michael Bruce of the Trussville Police Department.
“It was sexual contact, he grabbed her on the breast, around the wrist and waist with his other arm,” Bruce said.
Warrants were signed Monday charging Brent Lee Higginbotham of Ragland, 25, with the act, which occurred Oct. 15 at the Walmart on 5919 Trussville Crossings Parkway. His bond has been set at $15,000. As of Monday afternoon, Higginbotham was still at large.
Bruce said Higginbotham’s last known address is 300 block of McGuffie Drive in Ragland He was driving a 2011 four door red Honda Civic with black wheels.
“He had shaved the full beard down to a goatee last we know, but he has no visible marks,” Bruce said.
Bruce said within hours of the photo and story being published by the Tribune he received a call from a citizen alleging a similar incident happened at Leeds Walmart. That witness had a description of car and partial tag number.
“Once it started going on social media we probably had half a dozen or more people who called in and said they recognized him,” Bruce said. “Six to eight people said they knew him.”
The Trussville Police Department would like to thank citizens that phoned in with information surrounding the identity of the suspect along with other details of the case as well as media outlets for sharing the initial photos of the suspect and his vehicle, which greatly impacted our ability to get him identified in a timely manner according to Bruce.