UPDATED: Snellville Police Nab Child Molestation Suspect in Wooded Encampment

UPDATED 2 p.m., May 19: Police transported Tion Jaun Pri to the Gwinnett County Detention Center on May 16, 2012. In addition to a felony charge of aggravated child molestation, the Grayson man is accused of reckless conduct. He is being held without bond.

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Snellville Police investigators have arrested a man they believe sexually assaulted a child and then fled to a wooded encampament to escape capture.

According to a press release from Snellville Police Department, 31-year-old Tion Jaun Pri is suspected of felony aggravated child molestation, stemming from a case brought to Eastside Medical Center.

Hospital officials notified police on Friday, May 4, 2012, regarding a possible child molestation, which was then documented by a forensic exam. Police later obtained a warrant for Pri, who police investigators also learned had recently crashed his vehicle driving near the intersection of Centerville Highway and Zoar Road in unincorporated Snellville.

The suspect then fled on foot, and police believed the man was hiding in the area near the accident scene. He also was believed to be a danger to himself. 

On May 8, 2012, an investigator combing the woods near the scene of the accident discovered the suspect had been staying in the woods, and based on evidence found there, investigators then determined that Pri was using a debit car at several local stores. 

Police moved their efforts to the Presidential Markets area off of Scenic Highway (also known as the Target and Publix shopping center), where the debit card was used several times. Those purchases led police to the rear of the shopping center, where they located Pri holed up at a wooded encampment.

Police said Pri also had attempted to take his own life, and because of the severity of his injuries, the suspected was transported back to Eastside Medical Center, where the saga began days earlier. 

He received treatment and will be turned over to Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office upon his release. Pri will then be transported to the Gwinnett County Jail to await his first court appearance.