Scotty Carroll

Name of Accused:
Carroll, Scotty Lynn

Date of Arrest:
09/05/2024

Charges For Arrest:
Cruelty To Child, Excess Physical / Mental Pain, 1st
Battery, Family Violence (1st Offense)
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
On 9.5.24 at approximately 1837 hours I, Ofc T. Hammontree, responded to a domestic disturbance located at [1000 BLOCK] Willowdale Rd, apartment [REDACTED]. Upon arrival, I located the caller, [VICTIM #1], in the parking lot. [VICTIM #1] stated that her husband, Scotty Carroll, had struck her in the mouth during an argument while in the presence of their three children, [REDACTED BY AGENCY], [REDACTED BY AGENCY], and [REDACTED BY AGENCY].
[VICTIM #1] stated that prior to calling 911 she had arrived back at the apartment from Walmart. She stated that she called into the bedroom where Carroll was laying on the bed to help bring in the groceries. She stated that Carroll refused and told her to “get the girls to do it”. [VICTIM #1] stated that she had become frustrated with Carroll in regards to helping with the residence which included cleaning. [VICTIM #1] went on to say that she was tired of coming home to the apartment that was in disarray and Carroll would not contribute in cleaning. [VICTIM #1] stated that she saw Carroll’s hand tools on the couch and they were leaving grease on the furniture.
[VICTIM #1] stated that she told Carroll he needed to pick up his tools which he refused and told her that [REDACTED BY AGENCY] should clean up the tools since he was playing with them earlier. [VICTIM #1] stated that during the argument with Carroll she had went to the children’s bedroom. She admitted that she began calling Carroll a “piece of sh*t” out of frustration when Carroll began yelling at her to “leave me the G.D. alone”. [VICTIM #1] stated that while at the children’s bedroom door, she stated that Carroll came out of his bedroom and struck her in the face while yelling “I told you to leave me alone”. [VICTIM #1] advised that Carroll then struck her again which caused her glasses to break. [VICTIM #1] advised that she then exited the apartment to contact 911.
While on scene I spoke with [REDACTED BY AGENCY] in the parking lot. She stated that [VICTIM #1] was asking Carroll to put up his tools that were in the living room. She advised that Carroll then got very angry at which time [VICTIM #1] attempted to close the bedroom door of the children’s room to keep Carroll in the hallway. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated that Carroll was able to get into the bedroom by force and grabbed [VICTIM #1] by the hair which caused her glasses to get broken during the struggle. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] advised that [VICTIM #1] tried to leave the bedroom due to Carroll hitting her. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] advised that at that point, [VICTIM #1] was attempting to call 911 for help but Carroll took the phone from her. I later asked [VICTIM #1] if this had occurred which she stated that Carroll did not interfere with her attempting to call 911. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated that during the incident she was struck on the top of the head, however she believed Carroll was not attempting to hit her and was an accident while he was focused on [VICTIM #1] which she tried to intervene.
At this time, myself, Ofc. Lewis and Ofc. Warren relocated to the apartment to speak with Carroll. As we knocked on the door we got no response from anyone inside. Ofc Lewis then asked [VICTIM #1] for consent for us to enter the apartment which she agreed and stood by on the stairs as we entered the apartment. Upon entry Carroll was no where to be found. I did observe the hallway between the bedrooms that had a laundry door laying on the floor. I later asked [VICTIM #1] about this door which she advised it was damaged during this incident.
We then walked back to the front of the parking lot where the children were waiting in the car. At this time, Ofc. Warren began looking behind the building and could see a male matching the description of Carroll walking in the woods behind the apartment building. This male was later confirmed to be Carroll.
We then relocated to where Carroll was standing near the edge of the woods. I later reviewed my body worn camera and could not see Carroll at this location on our initial approach to locate him in the apartment.
I then asked Carroll for his account of the incident. He stated that [VICTIM #1] came back to the apartment after shopping and [VICTIM #1] told him he needed to get the food from the car. He advised that he told her “all right, give me a minute. I’m on the phone”. Carroll stated that the children were either in the hallway or in the bedroom when [VICTIM #1] came to their bedroom and began yelling at him. He stated that [VICTIM #1] “didn’t like what he had to say and came down on me, smacking me around, hitting me”. Carroll advised that [VICTIM #1] weighs “close to 300 pounds” so he used his foot to push her off of him while he was laying on the bed with [VICTIM #1] on top of him. Carroll stated that [VICTIM #1] then went backwards towards the hall and fell down. Carroll advised that he didn’t exactly remember where he kicked [VICTIM #1], but believed it was in her hip when she had turned her body away from him. Carroll stated that he then went to the hallway to calm [VICTIM #1] down as the children were watching the event.
I then asked Carroll why he appeared to be hiding in the woods which he stated “she called the law and I didn’t want to get hemmed up”. I mentioned to Carroll that I noticed there was leaves on the back of his pants which led me to believe he was making adequate steps to avoid speaking with law enforcement.
I then asked Carroll how [VICTIM #1] sustained an injured lip and her glasses broken, which he stated it might have happened when she fell back after being kicked.
While speaking with Carroll, I did not observe any obvious visible injuries that would have supported his account. Based on testimony of [VICTIM #1] and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] along with the physical injuries observed I decided to place Carroll under arrest as the primary physical aggressor in this incident.
Carroll was placed in handcuffs and escorted to my vehicle. He was seatbelted in the rear passenger seat. Prior to leaving the scene, [VICTIM #1] was provided a victim’s bill of rights form with the corresponding case number.
Carroll refused to answer if he was an American citizen. When I asked him if he needed me to contact a consulate of his citizenship, he replied to the effect that he didn’t know. He did state he did not have any immediate medical concerns.
I then transported Carroll to the Whitfield County Jail and turned him over to the booking staff without incident.
Carroll was booked on warrantless arrest# 69188 for the offenses:
OCGA 16-5-23.1 battery-fva
OCGA 16-5-70 cruelty to children, 3rd degree (3 counts)
During this incident the suspect was advised they were under arrest. The suspect was searched incident to arrest. My patrol vehicle was searched prior to and following transport of the suspect. The suspect was secured in a seatbelt during transport. While at the jail my department issued side arm was secured inside a locker. The suspect and their belongings were turned over to booking staff at the jail with no issues. Booking staff was made aware of any medical or security risks at the time of handing the suspect over.
[End of Narrative]