State investigators will seek charges of drug possession, fleeing and obstruction against a Gainesville man shot by a police officer in Middle Georgia on Monday.
Kory Karpich, 37, was taken to a medical center in Macon and is expected to recover, according to the GBI. Once he’s released from the hospital, Karpich will also face a charge of theft by receiving stolen property after investigators said he crashed in a stolen vehicle.
Byron police were searching for the vehicle Monday when they encountered Karpich outside a McDonald’s on Ga. 49 in Peach County, located just south of Macon. An officer spotted the unoccupied silver Volkswagen Atlas, which was reported stolen out of the Atlanta area, in the restaurant’s parking lot.
The officer was attempting to find the vehicle’s driver when Karpich walked out of the McDonald’s and climbed behind the wheel, GBI agent Jerry Jones said in a statement. He was ordered to get out of the vehicle.
“After Karpich failed to follow instructions, the officer broke a window to enter the car,” Jones said. “Karpich continued to ignore the officer’s commands. The officer used his Taser; however, the Taser was ineffective.”
Karpich tried to drive away but ended up hitting the side of the building and the officer’s patrol car, which was parked directly behind the Atlas, the GBI agent said. The officer fired multiple rounds into the moving vehicle, he said, hitting Karpich.
Other Byron police officers gave chase, and the pursuit eventually ended with a crash in Bibb County, several miles to the north. Karpich was then taken into custody without further incident, the GBI said.
His drug charges were related to possession of methamphetamine and drug-related objects.
No officers were injured during the incident, which the GBI is investigating as the 83rd officer-involved shooting this year. The agency had investigated 95 such shootings at the same point in 2022.
At the close of the investigation, the file on Monday’s case will be given to the Bibb Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.
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