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PHILIPPI - A manager at the Philippi Dollar General store is accused of locking a juvenile female inside the store and making inappropriate comments to her.
Jeffrey Irvin Malcolm, 35, of Philippi, is charged with soliciting a minor, a felony. He is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $40,000 surety/cash bond.
According to the criminal complaint, prepared by Deputy Lars Gould with the Barbour County Sheriff’s Department, on Saturday, the deputy spoke with the mother of a juvenile female, who said her daughter had been locked inside the Philippi Dollar General store and had been "subjected to inappropriate comments by one of the store managers."
The juvenile told the deputy that she had been dropped off at the store and saw the store manager, Malcolm, waving for her to enter the business, the complaint states. Once inside, she said, "You almost locked me out." She said he responded, "Well, now you are locked in."
The alleged victim said Malcolm then accompanied her to the party supply section of the store, where she selected a basket and a card, and then also a pack of chewing gum on her way to the checkout counter, according to the complaint. She said Malcolm told another employee not to ring up her purchases, saying he would handle the transaction himself.
The juvenile said Malcolm told her he was giving her a "manager’s discount," leaving her only the chewing gum to pay for, the complaint states. She said he then asked her, "What are you going to do for me now since I paid for your stuff?" She said she responded, "I don’t know, tell your manager you paid for it." She said he replied, "Good thing I am the manager" and laughed.
The alleged victim said the other employee wanted to go outside to dispose of trash, and Malcolm said, "I have to unlock it," according to the complaint. Once the door was unlocked, the juvenile immediately exited the store, she told police.
While providing her statement, the juvenile was "visibly upset and crying," the complaint states, with her saying she’d never experienced anything like this before and that she was scared because she had been locked inside the store with two adult men.
She also told police she had observed Malcolm allegedly taking photographs of underage females at the Barbour County Fair about a week before. Based on this information, police later took Malcolm’s cell phone "into custody" to investigate.
When the deputy spoke to Malcolm, he "admitted to purchasing items" for the juvenile and that he had locked her inside the store, according to the complaint. He said locking her inside the store was consistent with the procedure he had been trained to follow.
He denied asking her what she would do for him after he paid for her selected items, but he did admit to drinking on the job, the complaint states. He blew a .136 on the PBT (portable breath test), and told the deputy "that he needed help."