A Georgia man is in jail after deputies said he held someone at gunpoint, led authorities on a high-speed chase in a stolen car and got into a crash.
A deputy shot at the stolen car, putting an end to the Emanuel County chase and prompting the GBI to look into the incident.
It happened about 1:30 p.m. Friday, according to the GBI. Emanuel County deputies were alerted that a vehicle and cargo trailer were stolen from nearby Jeff Davis County. Officials there said they believed the trailer and vehicle were in the Garfield community of Emanuel County.
While en route to investigate the claim, deputies learned that the man believed to have stolen the trailer had left the area in another stolen vehicle, according to the GBI.
Deputies soon spotted the car, driven by Christopher Thomas Hatton, 33, of Lumber City. The deputies said they tried to stop Hatton. Instead, the man sped away and led them on a high-speed chase for several miles.
“During the chase, Hatton displayed a weapon and fired it in the direction of the deputies,” the GBI said in a statement.
The GBI said Deputy Elec Wheeler fired a shot in the direction of Hatton’s vehicle on Ga. 80.
Hatton stopped during the chase and approached someone parked on a bridge on South Old Reidsville Road, the GBI said. Deputies said Hatton pulled out his gun and threatened to kill the person, who fought the suspect and took the gun away from him, officials said.
Then, Hatton hopped into the person’s car and sped away again, the GBI said. The deputies started chasing Hatton a second time, and another deputy, Marty Mercer, fired at Hatton as he drove, according to the GBI.
Hatton was not hit by the gunshots, but it did cause him to wreck, officials said.
Hatton was arrested and booked into the Emanuel County jail on multiple charges, including armed robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and theft by taking.
The GBI is still investigating the incident, which is the 34th officer-involved shooting investigation the agency has opened this year. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officer-involved shootings that don't involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI's tally.
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