Felon to serve 30 years for leading 150 mph chase that killed Coweta deputy
When he fled from officers in a stolen car on Jan. 4, 2024, De’Cedric Vonche Donson had already been arrested 17 times with three felony convictions.
Despite his criminal history, the 26-year-old failed to stop when Coweta County Deputy Eric Minix attempted to pull him over on I-85. Donson eventually hit speeds of more than 150 mph during a chase that ended across the state line when Minix was struck and killed by an Alabama officer.
This week, Donson pleaded guilty to six counts of felony fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and one count of theft by receiving stolen property, according to Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herb Cranford. Donson was sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 20 years on probation.
“This case highlights both the moral responsibility of those who flee from law enforcement for the consequences of their flight and also the necessity to remove violent felons from our communities,” Cranford said in a statement Wednesday. “It was Donson’s responsibility as a member of society to pull over, and everything that followed his failure to do so is his moral responsibility.
“The idea, espoused by some, that law enforcement should not chase fleeing felons empowers criminals — including violent offenders like Donson — and incentivizes them to always flee and endanger the public in doing so,” Cranford added.
On the night of the chase, Minix pursued Donson through Troup County and was joined by additional deputies as the suspect continued into Alabama, according to investigators.
When Donson’s tires were deflated in the stolen Dodge Challenger he was driving, Minix got out of his patrol car with his police dog, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency previously said.
At the same time, officer Cornelius Robinson of the Lanett Police Department, who had joined the pursuit, was quickly approaching and couldn’t stop before hitting the deputy.
Minix died at the hospital. He was 31.
Donson was arrested at the scene. Before that arrest, he had been convicted of robbery with a deadly weapon in 2017, grand theft auto and leaving the scene of a crash with injuries in 2021, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in a separate case that year, according to the district attorney.
At his funeral, Minix’s two four-legged friends were the first to say goodbye. Police K-9s Bruno and Robbi were led to the flag-draped casket of their former handler, who was survived by his wife and three young children.
“Eric loved his family, his kids and his job,” his father, Mark Minix, told those gathered at Crossroads Church in Sharpsburg for the funeral. “I never heard him once complain about having to get up and go to work.”
Weeks after the funeral, Eric Minix was named Officer of the Year by the local American Legion Post, the Coweta sheriff’s office said.
“Donson is a tragic reminder of the danger presented to law-abiding citizens when repeat offenders are given chance after chance after chance by the criminal justice system, as if leniency will cause them to reconsider their criminal lifestyle,” Cranford said. “For everyone touched by this case, and for unknown future potential victims of this defendant, I am thankful that he will be in a Georgia prison until 2054.”
