A woman chomped down on a man who chased her down Wednesday morning after she shoplifted two Florida Gators jackets from a convenience store.
Karen Graddy, 47, of Kent Lane in Wrightsville, picked up the jackets at PoJo’s Gas & Go on U.S. Highway 301 South, but didn’t pay for them before leaving the store around 8:55 p.m., according to Bulloch County sheriff’s reports.
A man saw her commit the crime and chased her down Highway 301 South toward Interstate 16. When he tried to grab her as she climbed into a tractor trailer, she bit him on the arm, he told Bulloch County Sheriff’s Deputy Dustin L. Cowart.
The witness lost his grip and Graddy escaped into the truck, driven by an unidentified person. Reports were unclear as to whether Graddy knew the driver, but as responding deputies located the truck and followed, it stopped and Graddy resumed her flight on foot as she climbed the Kennedy Bridge overpass, reports state.
Still chasing her, Cowart left his patrol car and climbed the hill to the overpass as well, spotting Graddy traveling down Kennedy Bridge Road. He caught a ride with a Bulloch County employee driving a work truck and quickly caught up with Graddy, taking her into custody, he wrote in reports.
The witness who first pursued Graddy suffered a “large bite mark that looked pretty deep,” he stated. Bulloch County EMS was called to the scene to treat the man’s wounds.
Graddy was charged with theft by shoplifting, battery and obstruction before being taken to the Bulloch County Jail, where she awaits bond hearings.

Holli Deal Bragg may be reached at (912) 489-9414.