Dollar General manager charged with soliciting minor after locking girl inside store

PHILIPPI, W.Va (WDTV/Gray News) - A Dollar General store manager is charged with soliciting a minor after he allegedly locked a girl inside the store and made inappropriate comments to her.

Jeffrey Malcolm, 35, was arrested by the Barbour County Sheriff’s Office.

On Saturday, the girl’s mother contacted police to report that her daughter had been locked inside the Dollar General store and subjected to inappropriate remarks by one of the managers.

The girl told deputies that she was dropped off at the store and Malcolm waved for her to come inside. When she entered, she told him, “You almost locked me out,” to which he replied, “Well, now you are locked in.”

The girl said Malcolm walked with her to the party supply section before heading to the register, where he told a coworker not to ring the girl up because he would take care of it, according to the criminal complaint.

Malcolm allegedly told her he was applying a manager’s discount, paid for the party supplies himself and only had her pay for gum.

The criminal complaint states Malcolm asked the girl, “What are you going to do for me now since I paid for your stuff?” The girl told Malcolm she did not know and he laughed and said, “Good thing I am the manager.”

During their conversation, other employees stepped outside to take out the trash. When Malcolm said he had to unlock the door for them, the girl immediately left the store, according to the criminal complaint.

Deputies said the girl was crying and visibly shaken when they spoke with her and told them she had never gone through an experience like that and was scared because she had been locked inside with two adult men. She also told deputies she had seen Malcolm taking photos of underage girls at the fair the previous week. Investigators seized his phone as part of the case.

When questioned by deputies, Malcolm admitted to buying the items and acknowledged locking the girl inside, claiming it was “consistent with the procedure he had been trained to follow.” He denied asking what she would do for him in return, but admitted he was drinking on the job, said he “needed help,” and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.136%.

Malcolm is being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $40,000 bond.