A man was shot by White County deputies Saturday after he allegedly set fire to a truck and led officials on a chase across several counties, authorities said.
Alan Paul Heinze, 53, was arrested after the chaos and is facing several charges, including aggravated assault and arson, according to the GBI and Habersham County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office was called that morning to a vehicle fire on Sutton Road in Demorest, where they found a Chevrolet Silverado engulfed in flames at a detached shop. After discovering the fire was caused by an explosive device, deputies moved people off the property and secured the area.
Authorities said Heinze, of Cleveland, had left the scene in a Penske box truck.
At around 11 a.m., a White County deputy spotted the vehicle traveling west on Ga. 115, the GBI stated. Several household items, including furniture, were spilling out of the back, according to the sheriff’s office.
Heinze fled and eventually got on Helen Highway, where he rammed into a patrol car, disabling it, the GBI said. At one point, he allegedly tried to run over a deputy, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies then used their vehicles to box in the truck, but were unsuccessful. The GBI said it was during this encounter that deputies shot Heinze.
But the sheriff’s office said he continued driving despite a gunshot wound to his arm. The chase ended when a deputy forced him off the road at Jack P. Nix Elementary School, about 15 miles northwest of Demorest, the GBI said.
Heinze was taken to Hall County’s Northeast Georgia Medical Center. No law enforcement members were injured during the chase, according to the GBI.
Following his release from the hospital, Heinze was booked into the White County Detention Center on two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, the state agency said Sunday. Habersham County Sheriff’s Investigator George Cason said Heinze would also be facing burglary and second-degree arson charges after allegedly entering the shop and burning the truck.
He was also charged with unsecured load “because as the suspect was leaving the area, he ended up dumping about half of his load down on the side of the road,” Cason added.
Credit: GBI
Credit: GBI
Once the GBI investigation is complete, the case will be given to the Enotah Judicial Circuit for review. It is the 75th officer-involved shooting the state agency has been requested to investigate this year, and the third since last Sunday.
There had been 95 such shootings by this time in 2022.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
About the Author
