Man wanted in Monroe County arrested in South Carolina

An “armed and dangerous” man sought on several felony warrants has been arrested after officials said he ran away from Middle Georgia deputies who tried to take him into custody, prompting a county-wide school lockdown.

Gregory Allen Jones, 39, was arrested in Anderson, South Carolina, according to Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Anna Lewis.

Jones had been on the run since early December, according to the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia. Augusta Sheriff Donald L. Smith said the agency took out four felony warrants against Jones and tried to arrest him Dec. 8.

“The sheriff’s office holds four felony warrants and one misdemeanor warrant (eluding, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a firearm while in possession of drugs, possession of a schedule I or II drug, and reckless driving) related to a pursuit,” Smith said in a Facebook post.

The sheriff’s office tried once more to arrest Jones on Dec. 17 but was unsuccessful. Charges in that incident are pending, according to Smith.

The Monroe sheriff’s office received a tip claiming that Jones was at a Red Roof Inn in Forsyth, Lewis said. Deputies went to the motel to arrest Jones and approached him after he left his room and got into a car, she said.

When deputies tried to take Jones into custody, he refused to get out of his car and sped away, Lewis said.

Deputies shot at the tires of Jones’ car, but he kept driving. The deputies chased him to the Daysprings Presbyterian Church on U.S. 41, where he crashed, Lewis said. Jones then got out of the car and ran away.

The U.S. Marshals Service and Georgia State Patrol troopers joined in the search for Jones. All Monroe County schools were put under a Code Red lockdown “with multiple deputies at each school” while the search was underway, Lewis said.

Investigators determined Jones was likely traveling in a gray 2018 Hyundai Tucson, according to Lewis.

“We believe that shortly after Jones wrecked his vehicle, he stole another vehicle,” she said. The Tucson was stolen earlier Wednesday morning, but the vehicle theft wasn’t reported until about 1 p.m.

Investigators with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office spotted the stolen vehicle and started chasing it, officials said. The chase ended in a rollover crash, Lewis said. It is not clear if it resulted in any injuries.

South Carolina state troopers are investigating the crash.