Naked man flees hospital after smoking crack and trying to assault stroke patient, police say

ATLANTA – According to disturbing new allegations at Grady Memorial Hospital, a 24-year-old man was arrested after allegedly trying to sexually assault a stroke patient. The police report shows the suspect smoked crack inside the hospital, entered the patient’s room uninvited and attempted to assault her while she slept.

The incident occurred when a hospital employee encountered Shamon Pearce in an elevator and noticed him using what appeared to be a crack pipe, initially mistaken for a cigarette.

After the employee and Pearce exited the elevator and waited for help from security near the nurse’s station, he escaped their surveillance.

Suddenly, they said they heard a noise coming from a room, leading to the discovery of a naked Pearce and the patient on the floor.

Despite attempts to lock him in the room, he forcibly escaped and ran down the hallway without clothes. They lost him when he hit the stairwell.

Surveillance footage revealed Pearce fleeing to the basement where he hid in a trash can for more than an hour. Inside the trash he found a hospital gown which he covered before leaving the scene.

Pearce was then arrested under a nearby bridge. At first, he told police he was ill and claimed he had just been released from the hospital that afternoon. He told police he wanted to be taken to Gateway, a homeless shelter. After being refused transport to the shelter, Pearce’s attitude changed and he refused further communication with authorities. Nevertheless, he eventually admitted to being under the influence of drugs and assaulting the patient, claiming to have “tried something new.”

The patient was later identified as a stroke patient who was sleeping at the time Pearce burst into her room. She said that when she opened her eyes, he was standing over her naked, trying to cover her head with a bedspread. When she asked him what he was doing, she said he became aggressive, climbed on top of her and told her to be quiet.

During the ensuing fight, the patient told police they both fell off the hospital bed, causing her to hit her head. She also told police she did not know Pearce personally, but had seen him several times at the hospital.

Authorities have since recovered a rape kit and Pearce now faces charges including intent to rape, sexual assault and battery. He is being held at the Fulton County Jail.