Employee Rehired after Being Attacked by Shoplifters, as 3rd Suspect Arrested 

Rincon, GA (WorkersCompensation.com) – A Lowe’s employee, fired after being attacked by three shoplifters, has been rehired as the last suspect in the incident has been arrested.  

According to the Rincon, Ga., Police Department Takyah Berry is in custody nearly three months after she and two others allegedly attacked 68-year-old Donna Hansbrough. Hansbrough was working at Lowe’s when the suspects tried to leave the store with a cart filled with about $2,100 worth of merchandise.  

Hansbrough followed the suspects outside of the store and grabbed the cart from the suspects. One of the suspects then struck her in the face numerous times, police said, causing her “right eye to swell and blacken.”  

Lowe’s later fired Hansbrough for violating the company’s policy against pursuing shoplifters outside of the store.  

Social media came to Hansbrough’s defense. Hundreds of Facebook users commented on the police report, voicing their support for her and condemning the company.  

"She worked for Lowes for 13 yrs and they do this to her?" one Facebook user wrote.  

Lowe’s did not offer any details on why they had rehired her.  

"After senior management became aware of the incident and spoke to Donna Hansbrough today, we are reinstating her job and we are pleased that she has accepted the offer to return to Lowe's," company spokesman Larry Costello told NBC. "First and foremost, there's nothing more important than the safety of our customers and associates. Products can be replaced, people cannot." 

For her part, Hansbrough said she knew about the policy, but “lost it.”  

"I grabbed the cart. I don't actually remember going out, but I did. And I grabbed the cart that had the stolen items," she said. "I just got tired of seeing things get out the door. I just, I lost it. I basically lost all the training, everything they tell you to do. I just, I just lost it." 

The attack on Hansbrough was just one of several attacks on employees this year. Just this past week, several incidents of attacks on employees have been reported.  

In Rochelle Park, an employee was injured Sept. 10 when another employee attacked him with a metal folding chair before choking him out.  

Officials said Leslie A. Mann, 53, was working outside at a ShopRite when he got into an argument with another contract employee. Mann grabbed a metal folding chair and beat the other employee with it, then choked the other employee out before fleeing, Police Capt. James DePreta said.  

DePreta said Mann hit his co-worker over the head with the chair several times, then punched him in the chest, knocking him to the floor. Then, police said, he grabbed the other co-worker with his hands and choked him until he lost consciousness. Several co-workers helped the victim by pulling Mann off of them.  

The victim was taken to an urgent care facility, officials said, and then to Hackensack University Medical Center with swelling to his head, bruising on his chest and cuts on his arms and elbows, DePreta said.  

Mann fled the scene but later surrendered to authorities. He was arrested, charged with aggravated assault and possessing a weapon for unlawful purposes and taken to the Bergen County Jail.  

In Greenville, S.C., a man was arrested for attacking two Dollar General employees.  

On Sept. 8, Greenville County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to the Dollar general to investigate the incident. Deputies said 57-year-old Vincent Booker came to the store to confront an employee of a dispute with the intent to attack the employee, officials said.  

Booker entered the store and attacked the employee with a sharp object, then attacked another employee in the store. Both store employees were taken to a nearby hospital, officials said. While they were investigating the attack, Booker showed up at the hospital to be treated for injuries he received during the attack.  

Booker was taken to the Greenville County Detention Center and charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.  

And in Lorain, Ohio a contractor accused of not finishing a job was charged with attacking his own employee.  

Police said Cory Hall, owner of A-1 Concrete and Waterproofing, was in Minnesota with his employee Nick Pinero to complete a job. Pinero said Hall attacked him.  

Hall told police that after a night out, he went to Hall’s room to return a set of car keys.  

“I felt his arms go around my neck like in a chokehold, and I thought at that point he was playing with me. I grabbed his hands and said, ‘quit playing.’ At that point, I lost consciousness,” Pinero told WOIO. “What I remember from there was waking up in the kitchen. I could see his foot coming down on my face.” 

Pinero said he had trusted Hall and accompanied him out of town at the promise of making money for his family. Instead, he ended up with stitches under his left eye and bruising on his face. He told WOIO he can’t hear out of one ear.  

“I have nothing for that man. I hope honestly he stays in Minnesota and serves his proper sentence for what he did to me. I hope karma comes for him in the most kind way it can,” said Pinero. 

Hall was charged with third degree assault and is out on bond.  

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