A brief pursuit through the parking lot of a Smyrna-area motel ended in gunfire Friday morning, injuring a man suspected in a series of vehicle break-ins, officials said.
A Cobb County officer fired on the man when he jumped out of a fleeing SUV and pointed a handgun at his pursuers, according to police and the GBI. Isaiah Stewart, 18, ran and tried to hide in a nearby manhole but was quickly apprehended, the agencies said.
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
According to Cobb police, officers responded to the Rodeway Inn on Winchester Parkway shortly before 2:30 a.m. and located a group of five suspects “that had broken into multiple vehicles in the parking lot.”
They attempted to stop a black Toyota RAV4, but the vehicle took off, police spokesperson J. Aaron Wilson said. The shooting took place after officers immobilized the Toyota with a PIT maneuver, and the vehicle’s occupants took off running.
Marcus Chavers said he was jolted from sleep around 2 a.m. by the sound of about eight gunshots right below his hotel room. He did not go to the window to survey the scene, but the police investigation stopped him from leaving the motel for work the next morning.
He noticed at least six vehicles in the parking lot with shattered windows.
“I’m pretty sure it was mischief,” Chavers said.
Stewart was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening and later released. He was booked Sunday into the Cobb jail on a charge of entering a vehicle with the intent to commit theft.
According to his arrest warrant, Stewart is accused of entering at least one vehicle in the motel’s parking lot. The vehicle was found with a shattered window, and a wallet was missing. Additional charges are expected to be filed as the investigation progresses, the warrant states.
Another suspect, identified by the GBI as 19-year-old Montavis Farmer, was apprehended near the scene and arrested on a charge of entering auto. Three other suspects remain at large as of Tuesday, according to police, and their names were not released.
No officers were injured.
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
The incident was the 92nd officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate this year. Agents were seen at the motel Friday morning collecting evidence and working alongside Cobb police.
Once the investigation is complete, the GBI said it would turn its case file over to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office for review.
