More than a month after police accused a man of shooting a Clayton County police officer and a robbery victim and four weeks after the man’s charges were dropped, officials publicly cleared his name Wednesday and announced they’re looking for a new suspect.

Officer Ryan Richey and another man were shot during a robbery at a shopping center along Riverdale Road on March 3. The subsequent investigation led officers to a 25-year-old they said was identified as the suspect by at least three witnesses, Clayton police Maj. Anthony Thuman told reporters during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Officials released a photo that day of the suspected individual wearing an all-yellow outfit in the store, and Arterio Crumbley turned himself in that night despite insisting that police had the wrong person.

“Mr. Crumbley proclaimed his innocence and provided an alibi as to his whereabouts during the shooting,” Thuman said. “As the investigation continued, the actual suspect became known, and detectives were able to verify Mr. Crumbley’s alibi.”

Given the new information, the warrants for Crumbley’s arrest were recalled, and new ones were obtained for Charles Jakaobe Santana Payne, 17, of Riverdale. He’s accused of stealing about $500 from the victim’s pocket and then shooting the man and the officer when they confronted him.

𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗴𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁 ❗❗ On March 2, 2022, at approximately 1:50 pm, at the 5000 block of Riverdale Road,...

Posted by Clayton County Police Department on Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Crumbley’s name and mug shot were shared with news outlets the day of the shooting. His charges were not rescinded until March 16.

“We always open and close cases all the time. We usually don’t go public with it. This case is no different than the others,” a Clayton police spokesperson later said of why the department waited four weeks to make the public aware that Crumbley had been cleared.

“The Clayton County Police Department’s criminal investigation division makes sure we complete every investigation to the fullest,” Thuman said. “Just because we get to a point where someone’s arrested, that’s not the end of the investigation. And that’s the point I want to stress in this: We want to make sure for everyone involved — for the victim of the robbery, field training officer Richey, as well as for any suspect charged — we make sure we thoroughly complete the investigation.”

Richey has since made a full recovery and has returned to work, Thuman said.

While Crumbley’s charges related to the March 3 incident have been dropped, police said he remains in custody in Henry County for a violation of probation in an unrelated case.

Asked whether the Clayton Police Department will issue an apology to Crumbley and his family, Thuman said, “We go where the evidence takes us. What are we apologizing for? He was misidentified by witnesses.”

Police are still looking for this suspect, who is accused of a robbery on Riverdale Road in March.

Credit: Clayton County Police Department

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Credit: Clayton County Police Department

“Fortunately, with him and like we do everybody else, the investigation does not stop at the arrest,” he added. “We want to take that extra effort. If you have one of these proclaiming his innocence, we feel like we owe it to him as well to make sure we fully investigate that.”

Thuman said three witnesses identified Crumbley, though he did not specify if that included the two victims. He said the group included at least one person who knew Crumbley and knew he used to live in an apartment complex where the suspect had been seen running.

Thuman said police now believe the suspect shown in a still of surveillance footage from the store is Payne, who they said is a known gang member. Authorities do not know his whereabouts and are asking the public for help in locating him, describing him as “armed and dangerous.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Clayton police at 770-477-3550.