ASHEVILLE — Lewd acts at two East Asheville stores have left a man facing misdemeanor charges of assault and property damage, police say.
They expected to serve the warrants on the Fletcher man as early as Wednesday evening in connection with two women’s bizarre encounters at Kohl’s department store and Hamrick’s clothing store. Police say 39-year-old Paul Daniel Metcalf Jr. left semen on the women’s bodies.
Police say Metcalf’s face was caught on camera at both stores. But if the case was easy to solve, it still has left investigators shaking their heads.
“I’m not sure what the story is with this guy,” Detective David Simmons said.
Metcalf’s attorney David Belser declined to comment for this article.
In the most recent incident, security officials at Hamrick’s on Fairview Road watched a man on camera March 11 as he followed a female shopper, Sgt. Scott Lunsford said. They saw the man spit a projectile through a straw, hitting the back of the woman’s head without her noticing.
The shopper was never found. But the straw was located inside a purse for sale. Tests showed it contained semen, Lunsford said.
The store filed a charge of damage to property for the purse, but there have been no charges for striking the unidentified shopper.
A month earlier on Feb. 7, Lunsford said, a Kohl’s employee felt a hand touch her and turned to answer a man’s question. After the exchange she realized the spot on her clothing where he had touched her was wet.
“She immediately knew what it was,” Simmons said.
The victim and Kohl’s managers declined to comment. Hamrick’s employees referred questions to a manager who was not at work.
Simmons said it’s not clear how the man carried the bodily fluid or whether he earlier had exposed himself in the store.
“I’m not sure how he did it,” the detective said. “It seemed like he walked into the store (with the semen).”
They expected to serve the warrants on the Fletcher man as early as Wednesday evening in connection with two women’s bizarre encounters at Kohl’s department store and Hamrick’s clothing store. Police say 39-year-old Paul Daniel Metcalf Jr. left semen on the women’s bodies.
Police say Metcalf’s face was caught on camera at both stores. But if the case was easy to solve, it still has left investigators shaking their heads.
“I’m not sure what the story is with this guy,” Detective David Simmons said.
Metcalf’s attorney David Belser declined to comment for this article.
In the most recent incident, security officials at Hamrick’s on Fairview Road watched a man on camera March 11 as he followed a female shopper, Sgt. Scott Lunsford said. They saw the man spit a projectile through a straw, hitting the back of the woman’s head without her noticing.
The shopper was never found. But the straw was located inside a purse for sale. Tests showed it contained semen, Lunsford said.
The store filed a charge of damage to property for the purse, but there have been no charges for striking the unidentified shopper.
A month earlier on Feb. 7, Lunsford said, a Kohl’s employee felt a hand touch her and turned to answer a man’s question. After the exchange she realized the spot on her clothing where he had touched her was wet.
“She immediately knew what it was,” Simmons said.
The victim and Kohl’s managers declined to comment. Hamrick’s employees referred questions to a manager who was not at work.
Simmons said it’s not clear how the man carried the bodily fluid or whether he earlier had exposed himself in the store.
“I’m not sure how he did it,” the detective said. “It seemed like he walked into the store (with the semen).”
