The Stockbridge man accused of killing a Henry County policeman then driving away will remained jailed for at least several weeks.
In his first appearance Wednesday, a Henry County judge denied bond to Ruben Marin-Garibay.
Marin-Garibay, 43, is charged with vehicular homicide, serious injury by vehicle, failure to maintain lane and hit and run for allegedly hitting Henry County police officer Elgin Daniel and road-side assistance worker John Cook.
Daniel, of Ellenwood, retired as a lieutenant from the DeKalb County Police Department after 26 years of service, but decided to return to work two years ago as a Henry County officer, his brother told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"He was too young to retire," older brother Edward Daniel told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He figured he'd go back for a few more years, then call it quits for good."
His new police family in Henry County is struggling with Daniel’s loss.
“We’re obviously grieving here at the police department for officer Daniel, but to be able to make an arrest in this case brings us some relief,” Maj. Jason Bolton said late Tuesday.
Both men were taken to Atlanta Medical Center where Daniel, 53, died. Cook, 58, remains at the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.
The incident happened Monday evening just after dark, and police worked all day Tuesday looking for information on the Ford pickup truck Marin-Garibay was believed to have been driving.
A tipster led police to the vehicle, and subsequently, to Marin-Garibay by day’s end, authorities said. He was arrested around 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Bolton said damage to Marin-Garibay’s truck is consistent with evidence collected at the scene of the collision.
Marin-Garibay’s wife, Charlotte Marin-Garibay, told Channel 2 Action News that her husband was originally from Mexico and wasn’t the kind of person to run away from responsibility.
Investigators believe Marin-Garibay was driving the Ford truck that struck Daniel and Cook and continued eastbound on Ga. 138. Marin-Garibay owns a custom stone business, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. Address records show that Marin-Garibay lives about three miles from where the two men were hit.
Daniel is the third police officer killed in the line of duty in the metro Atlanta area recently. On Nov. 3, two Atlanta Police Department officers — Richard J. Halford, 48, and Shawn A. Smiley, 40 — died when the helicopter they were in crashed into power lines.
Daniel’s brother says his family worried about his job.
“When he first became a cop, he got into a scuffle and had his jaw broken,” Edward Daniel said. “You always worry about that, that something’s going to happen.”
As one of five siblings in a close-knit family, Elgin Daniel was the only police officer, but it was a job that suited him. After attending Slater Elementary and the former Price High School in southwest Atlanta, Elgin Daniel attended college for two years before picking a career, his brother said.
“It turned out to be his calling because he was pretty good at it,” Edward Daniel said.
Daniel is survived by three other siblings, wife, three adult children and his mother. His funeral will be held Friday.
Marin-Garibay will appear in court again for his preliminary – or probable cause hearing – on Dec. 11.
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