South Carolina deputy arrested, accused of firing shots during road-rage incident in Clayton County
Two people, including a South Carolina deputy, are facing charges in metro Atlanta after a road-rage incident where they allegedly pulled weapons on each other.
Johnnie Bryant, 35, of Bluffton, South Carolina, and Tabatha Abbot, 32, of Atlanta, are charged with aggravated assault, obstruction and reckless conduct in connection with Wednesday’s altercation on I-75 South, Clayton County police said Thursday in a statement.
Bryant is a deputy with the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office, according to the Clayton agency. Hampton County could not confirm his status as an employee as they are still gathering information, according to a spokeswoman for Sheriff T.C. Smalls.
Bryant was driving a tractor-trailer on I-75 near Tara Boulevard and Abbot was traveling in the same area in a sedan, Clayton County police said.
Each driver accused the other of cutting them off and brandishing a weapon, according to the statement.
Bryant fired about seven shots into the sedan, police said. No one was injured.
Bryant and Abbot were booked into the Clayton County Jail on Wednesday, records show. Their bond amounts have not been set.
In other news:
About the Author
Asia Simone Burns is a watchdog reporter for the AJC. Burns was formerly an intern in AJC’s newsroom and now writes about crime. She is a graduate of Samford University and has previously reported for NPR and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station.
