A man who was misidentified as a suspect in a shooting last month that injured a Clayton County police officer wants an apology from the agency after the charges against him were dropped.
Arterio Crumbley, 25, was initially charged in a March 3 shooting that injured Clayton police officer Ryan Richey and another man in a strip mall parking lot on Riverdale Road, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. On Wednesday, police said the charges against Crumbley had been dropped on March 16 and named a new suspect in the case.
Crumbley was transferred to the Henry County Jail where he continues to be held on a separate, unrelated warrant, Channel 2 Action News reported.
According to Clayton police spokesman Maj. Anthony Thuman, Crumbley was identified as the suspect by three witnesses at the scene.
“My cousin called me and said bro, your picture is on the Clayton County police website. I’m like bro, you’re joking and I hang up on him,” Crumbley told Channel 2.
Crumbley turned himself in that evening, though he maintained his innocence and provided an alibi, police said.
“As the investigation continued, the actual suspect became known, and detectives were able to verify Mr. Crumbley’s alibi,” Thuman said Wednesday.
“He thinks he’s owed an apology,” Crumbley’s girlfriend Salia Bedford said in an interview on Channel 2.
According to police, the warrants for Crumbley’s arrest were recalled in light of the new information, 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.
Richey, the injured officer, has since made a full recovery and has returned to work, Thuman said.
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.”
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Payne, who police described as a known gang member who is armed and dangerous, is asked to call Clayton police at 770-477-3550.
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