Man sentenced to 85 years for assaulting 4 women at Marietta staffing agency

A Cobb Superior Court judge sentenced Willie Elbert Kidd Jr. to 85 years in prison for going on a June 2022 rampage over a money issue at a Marietta staffing agency. He was found guilty of assaulting four women, including stabbing one victim twice in the neck, and severely damaging the Rock Staffing office on June 20, 2022.

The Cobb District Attorney’s Office said that Kidd, 28, was temporarily employed at the staffing agency when an issue arose with his compensation. He believed the agency owed him $200, but his direct deposit payment didn’t go through.

According to the arrest warrant, Kidd appeared irate when he went to the Austell Road location on the afternoon of June 20 with a serrated hunting knife that had a 5-inch blade.

Authorities said Kidd entered the lobby, knocked over a computer, and beat on a glass window until it shattered. According to the warrant, Kidd then kicked open a locked door leading to a secure employee area, where he confronted a woman at a reception desk and repeatedly threatened to kill her.

He also announced he was homeless and had “nothing to lose”. The woman managed to get away and barricaded herself in another office. Soon after, Kidd entered an office shared by two other women and threatened to kill one of them, and punched another in the face, per the investigator’s statement.

Kidd then held the second woman to the floor and stabbed her in the neck, according to the warrant, before she was able to run to a manager’s office. The injured woman and the manager attempted to lock the door, but Kidd was not far behind them.

Kidd kicked it open, punched the woman again, and stabbed her in the opposite side of the neck, the warrant stated. The investigator said Kidd then cornered and held a knife to the manager, who ran out while his back was momentarily turned.

Kidd fled the scene and was later spotted walking on nearby Lorene Drive. According to the warrant, Kidd dropped the knife when he saw police but refused their commands to stop. He was eventually taken into custody after running into the parking lot of the Efficiency Lodge motel. Kidd has remained jailed since his arrest.

After a short deliberation, Kidd was found guilty by a Cobb County jury of four counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment, one count of possession of a knife during the commission of a felony, and one count of second-degree criminal damage to property. 

Judge Kimberly Childs said during the sentencing, “When I sit through a jury trial, I see every single life this has affected. I see the fear on their faces. I see what law enforcement must go through. I see the scar on the victim’s neck. This was a violent episode. I’m doing my part to make sure there are no other victims in Cobb County from this defendant.”

Kidd was sentenced to 85 years by Childs. He was also re-sentenced to 20 years for a probation violation, which he must serve before serving his 85-year sentence.