Rockdale deputy charged with DUI, fleeing state troopers at 130 mph

A Rockdale County sheriff’s deputy is facing multiple charges, including DUI, after he led Georgia State Patrol troopers on a brief high-speed chase on I-20, according to an incident report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Tibias Dechun Holmes, 25, was arrested Dec. 5 after he was stopped by troopers at the Hill Street exit on I-20 West near Atlanta’s Grant Park neighborhood, the report said. He is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer, speeding, and possession of an open container.

According to the report, Holmes was accompanied by three other men in his red 2016 Honda Accord, all of whom were suspected to be drunk. Two of the other men, 22-year-old Anthony Isaac and 25-year-old Brandon Oglesby, are also Rockdale sheriff’s deputies.

Holmes’ Accord was first spotted speeding on I-20 West near Moreland Avenue, where a state trooper detected the car traveling at more than 110 mph, the report said. The trooper began following the Accord, and they drove past another state trooper who was in the middle of a traffic stop. That trooper clocked the Accord as traveling at more than 130 mph.

A third trooper heard about the potential pursuit over the radio and merged onto I-20 West in front of Holmes’ car, the report said. With one trooper in front and one behind, Holmes was guided to pull over at the Hill Street exit.

When the first trooper asked Holmes to step out of the car, he handcuffed Holmes and began to question him, according to the report. Holmes told the trooper that he hadn’t seen or heard the GSP patrol car behind him, then told the trooper he was a deputy with the Rockdale sheriff’s office.

During their interaction, the trooper said Holmes had an “overwhelming odor of an alcoholic beverage” on his breath and that the deputy refused all of the standard field sobriety and alcohol tests. The trooper arrested Holmes and began questioning the other passengers, one of whom was holding a Corona beer bottle, the report said.

The troopers called the Rockdale sheriff’s office and a deputy arrived to pick up the other three men, according to the report. He also took possession of the two deputies’ service weapons.

Rockdale Sheriff Eric J. Levett said the incident would be reviewed by his office’s internal affairs unit.

“All my deputies are held to a very standard,” Levett said in a press statement. “Anyone found to be in violation of RCSO policies, procedures, rules, regulations and/or state law will be held accountable and disciplined accordingly.”

No further information about the employment status of Holmes, Isaac and Oglesby has been released.

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