Macon, GA: Museum locks doors after man yells at children; deputies say he had items from the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame

Credit: Danny / Any County News · Source: Bibb County Sheriff's Office via 13 WMAZ, Oct. 16, 2026.

MACON, GA - A Tubman Museum employee locked the doors and called for help after a man in a black dress and red baseball helmet yelled at children, and deputies say he was carrying items taken from the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame across the street.

The Bibb County Sheriff's Office says a deputy was sent to the museum on Cherry Street around 9:12 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14. The employee said the man asked about admission and had been yelling at children that they needed to be in school and telling them to leave. He walked out but kept yelling, so the employee locked the doors and called for help.

Deputies identified the man as Wesley Dawson of Macon and found him in the parking lot holding a small baseball bat covered in signatures, with a medal around his neck. Deputies say the items came from the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, which was not open to the public at the time.

A Hall of Fame representative said none of it was exhibit memorabilia: the helmet was an upstairs decoration, the medal is one children use for photos on the Olympic podium, and the bat belonged to a co-worker. "None of it was memorabilia, which is all behind glass and locked doors," the representative wrote.

Dawson was taken to the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center and is held without bond. Bibb County jail records show charges of criminal trespass and second degree burglary. Charged, not convicted: he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Source: Bibb County Sheriff's Office via 13 WMAZ, Oct. 16, 2026. Images: Tubman Museum and downtown Macon (Wikimedia Commons); 13 WMAZ photo of a Bibb County Sheriff's Office vehicle.

Charged, not convicted.

Sources: Bibb County Sheriff's Office via 13 WMAZ, Oct. 16, 2026

Images: Tubman Museum and downtown Macon street photos (Wikimedia Commons) and a 13 WMAZ photo of a Bibb County Sheriff's Office vehicle door; no people shown. No AI-generated images.

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