A Georgia deputy accused of killing a University of Georgia graduate student believed the man was having an affair with his wife, newly released 911 calls show.
Former Madison County Deputy Winford "Trey" Terrell Adams, 32, has been in jail since Sunday evening after allegedly shooting Benjamin Lloyd Cloer multiple times at a home in Athens. The 26-year-old was pursuing a master's degree in artificial intelligence at UGA.
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According to 911 calls that AJC.com obtained Thursday from Athens-Clarke County police, Adams immediately called for help and admitted shooting the college student.
“I just shot somebody,” Adams tells the dispatcher. “My wife was cheating on me and I couldn’t take it. I didn’t shoot her, I shot the guy. I couldn’t stop myself.”
At the time, Adams didn’t know the extent of Cloer’s injuries, telling the dispatcher he wasn’t sure where the man went.
“He ran away. I don’t even know if I hit him,” Adams said, breathing heavily. “I’m about to go look for him.”
At that point, the woman on the line tells the deputy not to do that, but to stay where he is and put his gun down while he waits for police to arrive.
Adams then threatened suicide, telling the operator that he’s a deputy sheriff and “can’t go to jail for the rest of (his) life.”
“I can’t go to jail,” he cried. “I can’t. I’m sorry ... Tell Athens-Clarke County I’m not going to hurt any of them, but I can’t go to jail.”
Toward the end of the nearly 5-minute call, Adams expressed concern for his shooting victim, asking dispatchers if they received a call from Cloer and if he was OK.
“If you’re there, I’m sorry,” the deputy can be heard yelling, presumably to the man he had just fatally wounded. “Oh my God ... I did shoot him. I see him. I see blood on the steps.”
The deputy’s wife, Charlotte Adams, also placed a 911 call, telling authorities that her husband had just shot her friend.
In the background of that call, her husband can be heard telling her, “I always loved you, even if you didn’t love me.”
The dispatcher on her call then advises Charlotte Adams to get away from her husband, if possible.
“My friend is bleeding out,” Charlotte Adams told the dispatcher. “His name is Lloyd Cloer. He’s just my friend. This was a misunderstanding. My husband doesn’t understand he’s just my friend.”
Much of what she said during her 12-minute, 30-second conversation is inaudible in the 911 tape. Police can be heard arriving at the scene about eight minutes into the call.
Once they arrived, Trey Adams directed first responders to the injured man, according to the tapes. He was arrested at the scene on a murder charge and remains held at the Athens-Clarke County Jail without bond.
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