A Clayton County police spokesman said Tuesday it's possible additional suspects will be implicated in a ruse involving a sniper allegedly targeting school buses.
Meanwhile, Codarrius Brewer, arrested Friday and charged with falsely reporting a crime and obstruction, maintains he spotted a man with a rifle taking aim at a school bus the morning of May 14, according to his attorney Charles Lea.
"If he in fact made the story up, you would assume at least two other people would be charged," said Lea, who represents Brewer and his uncle, David Dillard.
Lea alleges that Brewer admitted to the hoax only after investigators threatened to send Dillard, paroled in 2007 on a murder conviction, back to prison.
"There's the person who supplied the gun, and the uncle who made the phone call to 911," Lea said.
According to Clayton police Lt. Chris Windley, those charges may be forthcoming based on information supplied by Brewer.
It's unclear whether the owner of the rifle is a suspect. After the Marlin .22 was recovered from the scene, police disclosed it was registered to a man who purchased it in 1985 and never reported it stolen.
A notepad was found near the gun containing the numbers of five school buses, including the one headed to Kemp Elementary School that Brewer claims was targeted.
Police said both the gun and list were planted by the 20-year-old Hampton resident, who was released on $5,900 bond. An arrest warrant alleges that Brewer "admitted to making up this story to make it appear that he was a hero and to receive a reward from the governor."
Windley said officers did not goad Brewer into a confession.
"That's not what we do," he said. "[Brewer] confessed and gave us some other info we're following up on."
The hunt for the sniper involved more than 75 officers escorting buses to and from four area schools and canvassing the Hampton neighborhood where the incident allegedly occurred. Windley said police have yet to tabulate the cost of the effort, which included Clayton Sheriff's deputies and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents.
Brewer and Dillard told police they saw a man crouching behind a neighbor's fence and aiming a rifle at a bus en route to Kemp Elementary School. Brewer said he yelled out, causing the man to drop the weapon and run away.
