Police Nab Man for Beating, Robbing Woman at Wal-Mart

Atlanta police on Thursday corrected the name of the suspect charged with beating and robbing a woman in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart at 1801 Howell Mill Road NW Tuesday night.

Police originally reported the name as Shardai Williams. On Thursday, they said the suspect is actually  John R. Wilson, 35. The original name was given in error, police said.

Wilson has been charged with robbery, aggravated assault, cruelty to children, entering an auto and obstruction of an officer, according to Officer Kim Jones. 

Around 8 p.m. Tuesday night, a witness flagged down police officers who were conducting a directed patrol on Howell Mill Road. The witness told police a man was beating a woman in the parking lot. 

When officers arrived on the scene, Wilson was in the passenger seat of the woman's car. Officers arrested him when he tried to flee. 

"The suspect, for reasons unknown, was unable to open his vehicle and began to flee on foot," Jones said. "Officers gave chase."

The woman told police she had just cashed a $4,000 tax refund check.  When the woman left the Wal-Mart with her 4-year-old daughter, she noticed a man following her, police said. 

The man began punching and tried to rob the woman after she placed her child in the car, police said. The victim and her child were not injured, police said. 

Wilson is being held at the .