A suspect in an Atlanta carjacking

was apprehended Monday morning after a manhunt through a wooded area in

central Fayette County.

The suspect was caught several

hours after bailing out of the stolen BellSouth van in the front yard

of a home off Tyrone Road following a pursuit by a Tyrone police officer

just after 8:45 a.m.

Detectives believe the suspect's

name is Timothy Dwayne Griggs, 30. He refused to give his name but he

was identified through fingerprints, said Sgt. Belinda McCastle of the

Fayette County Sheriff's Department.

Griggs was positively identified

as the carjacker by the victim, a BellSouth employee, and the Tyrone officer

who pursued the stolen vehicle, said Maj. Bruce Jordan.

The manhunt was conducted by

the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, which used its Special Enforcement

(SWAT) Team, K-9 unit and helicopter during the search. Deputies snuck

up on the suspect as he was pinned up against a tree, trying to hide from

the helicopter, Jordan said.

Local authorities were alerted

of the stolen vehicle's location through an electronic tracking device,

Jordan said. That allowed deputies to block off a section of Tyrone Road

with stop sticks at both ends to deflate the tires of the vehicle, Jordan

said. But the pursuit never got that far.

"We pretty much had him

boxed in," Jordan said.

After the suspect ditched the

vehicle, the main concern was that he might try to carjack another vehicle,

Jordan said, noting that several retired persons lived in the area.

The carjacking incident was

caught on surveillance video at the Atlanta convenience store, Jordan

added.

This was the first high-profile

use of the department's new Hawk 1 helicopter unit, which was the subject

of some political controversy with the Fayette County Commission recently.

The helicopter was purchased with money seized from drug dealers.

"That's exactly the scenario

we wanted it for," Jordan said. "We did get it in the air in

time despite the weather, and it worked well."

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