Investigators say the attacker posed as a customer before pulling a knife at a South Gilmer Street massage business.
CARTERSVILLE, GA — A 21-year-old Bartow County man was arrested Monday evening after police say he used a knife to assault an employee and tried to rob a downtown Cartersville massage business before fleeing and being stopped minutes later by deputies on a nearby roadway.
Police said the case matters now because it unfolded in a busy commercial corridor and involved a fast-moving hunt that relied on witness accounts, video and license-plate readers to track the suspect within an hour of the attack. The Cartersville Police Department identified the suspect as Jaiden Andrew Walraven. He is accused of confronting an employee at Massage Time Body & Foot and is being held as the investigation continues. The incident prompted a coordinated response with the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office and added scrutiny of whether the suspect may be tied to other, similar attempts.
Officers were called around 4:55 p.m. Monday to Massage Time Body & Foot at 9 S. Gilmer St., where an employee reported that a man entered, asked for a massage and then produced a knife once inside a room, according to police. A struggle followed. The employee escaped to the street with a cut hand, and the attacker ran out a side door and drove off in a sedan, witnesses told officers. Investigators gathered the last three digits of a license plate from people at the scene and reviewed security video that captured the man sprinting from the storefront. A regional alert was broadcast to nearby agencies as patrol units searched the streets around East Main Street and East Cherokee Avenue.
Police said information developed at the scene helped deputies find a matching vehicle in southern Bartow County. At 5:54 p.m., a Bartow County deputy conducted a felony traffic stop on Hardin Bridge Road near Euharlee Road and detained the driver, who was later identified as Walraven. A knife was recovered from the car, investigators said, though they did not describe its size and noted there was no visible blood on the blade. “Within seconds, the suspect produced a knife and demanded money,” Cartersville Police Capt. Greg Sparacio said, describing the sequence inside the business. He credited a quick response and interagency coordination with the arrest. The employee’s injury was consistent with a sharp object, police said; officials did not release details on treatment.
Authorities said witness statements, store video and license-plate recognition cameras, commonly referred to as Flock cameras, helped build a rapid timeline. Investigators also traced a phone number that a nearby business had flagged as suspicious earlier in the day and matched an identification photo to the person seen on video, according to police. The massage room doors did not have locks, the employee told officers through a witness who helped translate, and the struggle began when the suspect tried to hold the door closed. Police said the suspect ran after the employee before veering back to the sedan, a tan or gray four-door, and leaving the area. Officials have not said whether the knife has been tied forensically to the injury.
Walraven faces charges that include aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping, police said. Cartersville officers initially described the case as an attempted robbery; later summaries from agencies and jail booking noted an armed robbery count tied to the same window of time. Investigators also flagged an earlier, separate armed robbery report about an hour before the spa incident and said additional charges could follow. As of Wednesday, jail records showed Walraven held without bond. Police said they are reviewing more surveillance video, checking license-plate reader hits across the county and interviewing additional witnesses to determine whether other businesses were approached.
The attack occurred along South Gilmer Street, a short block from East Main Street in Cartersville’s downtown. The area includes small storefronts and steady afternoon traffic, and businesses reported seeing patrol cars and crime-scene tape as dusk approached Monday. By early evening, the storefront had reopened to limited foot traffic while officers canvassed the block and collected statements. “This is a good instance of law enforcement working together,” Sparacio said. “Without them, we wouldn’t have found this guy.” Police did not release the employee’s name. No other injuries were reported.
Officials said the investigation remains active. Detectives plan to review additional video, complete forensic work on the recovered knife and vehicle, and forward findings to prosecutors. Any first-appearance hearing for Walraven had not been scheduled as of late Wednesday. Police said they expect to update the case if more charges are filed or if additional incidents are linked. For now, the business remains open, and officers have increased patrols in the surrounding blocks while they finish interviews and reconcile the timeline from the first 911 call to the traffic stop.
As of Wednesday night, the case remained open with the suspect in jail and detectives preparing reports for prosecutors. The next expected update is a bond or first-appearance decision, which authorities said could come this week depending on court scheduling.
Author note: Last updated January 22, 2026.