UPDATED Friday at 2:55 p.m. — Suspect bolted on foot from traffic stop on northern edge of Fayette Co.; his mom urges him to surrender
A man who bolted on foot from a traffic stop in north Fayette County, and fired twice on a deputy, remains at large one day later, but his mother is attempting to convince him to turn himself in, officials said.
The brazen incident was caught on a patrol car’s camera as a deputy attempted to use his taser on the suspect, but one of the probes missed rendering it ineffective, said sheriff’s Maj. Bryan Woodie. In response the suspect pulled out a handgun and fired two shots at the deputy from about 10 feet away before taking off on foot, Woodie said.
The irony of the entire situation is that the suspect was pulled over for a simple seatbelt violation, and because he had no warrants out for his arrest, he was looking at a single citation for the incident, Woodie said. Now the suspect is on the hook for multiple felonies including aggravated assault.
If the suspect doesn’t turn himself in soon, he will mostly likely be brought in by the fugitive squad operated by the U.S. Marshal’s Office in Atlanta, Woodie said. The sheriff’s office already has a photo of the suspect from his driver’s license, Woodie said.
The deputy who was shot at had originally thought he was hit, which caused a delay in the foot chase as one of the sheriff’s department K-9 units was also on the scene and had to wait for backup because the suspect had already fired on law enforcement, Woodie explained.
The incident touched off a manhunt in the area of Helmer Road just across the Fayette-Clayton county line as bloodhounds and the department’s helicopter joined a number of units on foot searching for the suspect.
The original story from Thursday afternoon is below:
Fayette County sheriff’s deputies are trying to locate a suspect who fired several shots at a deputy who had pulled him over on the northern edge of the county, officials said.
Thankfully the shots missed the mark and the deputy was unharmed, officials said.
The contingent of law enforcement includes the department’s helicopter, Hawk 1, as well as K-9 bloodhounds, and just prior to 1 p.m. officers were believed to have hemmed in the suspect.
The initial traffic violation was on Helmer Road in north Fayette County just off Ga. Highway 279. The suspect pulled over in Clayton County, about a quarter mile over the county line, and tried to get away on foot.
The deputy attempted to control the suspect by using his Taser, which was unsuccessful, and it was after that point the suspect fired several shots toward the deputy, officials said.
“We have a photo of the suspect from his driver’s license return,” said sheriff’s Major Bryan Woodie. “We think we have him trapped down there and we think we’ll have him soon.”
