A Walmart employee’s quick thinking helped authorities catch a man accused of repeatedly strangling his girlfriend inside their camper in Nebraska, marking one of several violent incidents connected to the retail giant in recent weeks.
According to a release from the Gage County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to the Diamond T Truck Stop Camper Row along U.S. Highway 77 around 5:45 p.m. on Oct. 28 following reports of a violent assault.
There, officers met with 47-year-old Hollie Carver, who told them that her boyfriend, 31-year-old Justis Barnhouse, had strangled her up to six times that afternoon.
She also claimed that Barnhouse took her cellphone to stop her from reaching police.
An employee at a Walmart in Nebraska played a role in helping to save a woman after her boyfriend allegedly strangled her ‘5 to 6 times’. https://t.co/kFSyBUcmRT
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Investigators say Barnhouse had been holding Carver against her will for two days, preventing her from returning to Kansas.
The ordeal reportedly ended when the couple stopped at a Walmart in Beatrice, Nebraska.
Carver managed to attract the attention of a store employee and urged them to follow her into a restroom.
Once inside, she allegedly told the worker about the attack and her fear for her life.
The employee immediately alerted law enforcement, who arrived to arrest Barnhouse a short time later.
Barnhouse was booked into the Gage County Detention Center on charges of assault by strangulation and third-degree domestic assault.
Authorities noted he had two prior domestic assault convictions, though details about those cases were not made public.
This incident was one of several domestic violence cases across the country in which Walmart employees or customers intervened to help victims.
Just days earlier in Auburn, Maine, a store worker helped stop another alleged abuser when a terrified woman told employees she had been kidnapped and threatened by her ex-boyfriend.
Police later charged 50-year-old Harrison Coleman with kidnapping, domestic violence assault, and criminal threatening.
Authorities said the 30-year-old victim was forced into a vehicle and driven to a local Walmart, where Coleman allegedly ordered her to steal items for him under the threat of death.
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When the woman entered the store, she approached an employee and confided that she was in danger.
The employee immediately contacted a police officer who happened to be working security at the time.
“The quick actions of Walmart employees and the close proximity of the initial responding officer ensured this victim’s safety and led to the swift arrest of the suspect,” Auburn Deputy Chief of Police Tim Cougle said following the arrest.
Coleman was taken into custody at the scene. Police credited the cooperation between employees and responding officers for saving the woman’s life.
Elsewhere, another violent confrontation at a Walmart turned deadly in Georgia after an 18-year-old was stabbed during a dispute over a shopping cart.
Authorities say 48-year-old Delano Middleton attacked J.T. Schroeder inside a Whitemarsh Island Walmart near Savannah on Oct. 23.
According to investigators, Middleton was leaving the store when the teenager allegedly kicked his shopping cart, sparking a heated altercation.
Witnesses told police that Middleton pulled a knife and stabbed Schroeder several times.
Emergency responders transported the teenager to a nearby hospital, where he died the next day.
Police said Middleton fled the scene but was arrested one week later. Local reports indicate that Middleton has a history of violent crimes and was on probation at the time of the stabbing.
He was charged with murder and remains in custody at the Chatham County Detention Center.
In another Walmart-related tragedy, a Texas man received a 20-year prison sentence for a drunk driving crash that killed a co-worker in a store parking lot.
Prosecutors said 20-year-old Gabriel Rosas had been drinking during his lunch break before fatally striking 49-year-old Margaret Ureste as she walked to her car after her shift ended.
The deadly incident occurred in April 2024 at a Walmart in San Antonio. Officers who arrived at the scene found Ureste critically injured and unresponsive in the parking lot.
Rosas, who remained at the location, was taken into custody. She was transported to a hospital and later pronounced dead on May 1, 2024.
The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office revealed that Rosas had consumed alcohol earlier that day before getting behind the wheel.
Surveillance footage reportedly showed his vehicle hitting Ureste as she crossed the lot.
“This case is a reminder of the life-altering consequences that stem from drinking and driving,” said Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales.
“We are thankful the court recognized the gravity of this offense and delivered justice for Margaret’s family.”
Rosas pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter and was sentenced to the maximum penalty under Texas law.
