A man who authorities say opened fire outside a Georgia State Patrol post in Gainesville on Monday morning is being charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer.
Leighton Beaux Marchetta, 21, of Gainesville appeared to be intoxicated when he drove up to Post No. 6 on Cleveland Highway, got out of his silver Ford 350 truck and yelled at two troopers standing there that they were going to have to kill him to stop him.
Marchetta then fired a rifle and, after being warned to put the gun down, advanced and fired again, according to GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang. One of the troopers returned fire, hitting Marchetta in the right shoulder.
He was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, where he is being treated for non-life threatening injuries. Once he is released, he will be taken to Hall County jail, the GBI said.
Lang said there didn’t appear to be any connection between Marchetta and the troopers, neither of whom was hurt. Trooper Steve Thompson, a 15-year veteran with the state patrol, fired the shots. Trooper Jeremy Allison, a four-year veteran, made the 911 call at about 8 a.m. to the Hall County 911 Center.
In audio released of the call, he can be heard saying, “State patrol. We got shots fired at the post. Get us some help out here now. Shots fired. Shots fired.”
Lang said investigators were following up with Marchetta’s relatives and associates to see if they are all right. As of Monday afternoon, they appeared to be, she said.
She said authorities also were looking into whether Marchetta had any prior criminal record.
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