YouTuber Jeremiah Payne released a video on Monday to his YouTube channel providing more details on his alleged assault at the hands of an unidentified man working for the Nashville, Tennessee, based Helton Security at a strip mall.
In Payne’s newly detailed version of the story, he had just left a Kroger’s with receipt in hand when he went back in because he claimed he dropped a battery that he said he had purchased. He was then approached by the Helton Security guard outside of the store who accused him of shoplifting.
Payne stated that the Helton Security guard worked at the liquor store next door and for an adjoining strip mall, not the Kroger. Kroger has its own security, and as Payne claimed, if he was suspected of shoplifting Kroger’s security wouldn’t have allowed him to leave the store.
According to Payne, the man put his hand on his gun and threatened Payne with it, saying, “You don’t want to do this.” Payne said he responded, “You’ve got one shot then I’m going to drop your mother fucking ass.”
Without missing a beat, according to Payne, the man pulled out his pepper spray and sprayed Payne directly in the face, resulting in Payne running away from the scene and blindly through traffic. The security officer did not pursue Payne nor file a police report.
Payne would later return to the Kroger where he claimed Kroger security had no idea what had happened nor suspected Payne of doing anything wrong. Payne released a statement in his comments on the video to address the security footage of the incident.
The YouTuber said, “The police has to get it once they do they will give it to my attorney and I’ll get it from him. I asked the manager at Kroger’s if I could get it. And she said they do not have access to it. That only lost prevention does. And in order for me to get it. I had to follow a police report. And they will give it to the police and I will either get it from them or they will get it to my attorney and I’ll get it from him either way. Yes, I’m going to get it.”
Payne also announced that he ran into another Helton Security guard at the Kroger, who assured him that the other security guard had been fired. There has been no update to Helton’s Security team listings on their website as of press time to reflect the firing. There are no press reports reflecting the supposed incident.
The YouTuber then announced that he had spoken to an attorney who is in the process of filing the paperwork for a huge lawsuit. He said he would be demanding an apology from Helton Security along with policy changes to prevent their officers from attacking people with pepper spray, apparently as part of the lawsuit.
Long time observers of Payne’s note that he has a history of claiming that he’s talked to an attorney and that the attorney is in the process of filing a major lawsuit, yet he never actually sues anyone. It’s unclear what actually happened in the event and there will be questions about what happened until Payne released the “bodycam footage” that he says he’s attempting to get to prove his case.
