An Alabama man was found guilty of murder in connection with a 2021 car chase and shocking gunbattle that injured three Georgia officers, one of whom spent three months in the hospital after being shot in the head, prosecutors said.
While 25-year-old Aaron JuJuan Shelton didn’t fire any shots, a Carroll County jury found he was the driver and participated in the crimes with his cousin Pier Shelton, who fired an AK-47-style rifle at law enforcement several times. Pier Shelton was eventually killed during the rampage that shook three separate agencies to the core and horrified both families and local communities.
Aaron Shelton was convicted of multiple crimes, including felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery on law enforcement officers, felony fleeing and attempting to elude, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after the jury rejected his claims that his cousin coerced him. He is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.
“This case demonstrates the importance and value of Georgia’s felony murder statute,” Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herb Cranford said in a news release Saturday. “It is just that Aaron Shelton face a mandatory life sentence for felony murder as a consequence of his being a party to the crime of Pier Shelton’s attempts to kill numerous police officers.”
Credit: Carroll County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Carroll County Sheriff's Office
On April 12, 2021, Georgia State Patrol Trooper Zack Pruitt tried to pull over a 2015 Nissan Sentra that was clocked going 111 mph on I-20 in Carroll County, according to the DA’s office. At about 3:30 a.m., Pruitt attempted a traffic stop, but Shelton sped away as his cousin fired the rifle out of the passenger-side window. The bullets struck Pruitt’s vehicle and disabled it, prosecutors said, leading other agencies to be notified. The trooper was not injured.
Roughly 30 minutes later, local authorities joined the chase that was now led by Carrollton police Sgt. Rob Holloway and Cpl. Richard Cheatwood. The Nissan again reached high speeds on Ga. 61 as Pier Shelton fired at the officers and Carroll County deputies, who had joined the pursuit. A bullet went through the windshield of Holloway’s patrol vehicle and struck him in the head, causing him to lose control and strike a utility pole.
Holloway was taken to the intensive care unit at Grady Memorial Hospital and transferred weeks later to a metro Atlanta rehabilitation center for a brain injury. He eventually walked out of the Shepherd Center in what the sheriff’s office called “a true miracle.” The officer received a hero’s welcome and a police escort back home to Carrollton.
After the officer was struck, the Nissan approached Villa Rica and both suspects ran away. Authorities then established a perimeter. Villa Rica police Officer Chase Gordy was guarding the northern side about 25 minutes later when Pier Shelton approached and shot him in the arm and leg. Gordy underwent surgery at Grady before being released the next morning.
Soon after, Carroll County sheriff’s Cpl. Jamison Troutt and his partner, Deputy Jay Repetto, drove to the injured officer’s location. Terrifying video released by the sheriff’s office showed Pier Shelton stepping out of the darkness, walking toward the deputies’ car with the rifle and opening fire.
Credit: WSBTV Videos
Repetto was struck in the arm before both deputies returned fire and killed the suspect. The injured deputy was taken to Atlanta Medical Center and released later in the day, authorities said.
Photos showed at least 12 bullet holes in the windshield of Troutt’s patrol vehicle and several more in its hood. A couple who lived in a nearby house were at home during the incident and were “traumatized,” Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley said.
Aaron Shelton ran from law enforcement, hid in the woods and was eventually taken into custody by members of the state patrol’s SWAT team, prosecutors said.
“These crimes affected the officers involved, their families, their agencies and our entire community, and it will continue to,” Cranford said.
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