East Point car chase, shooting lead to arrest of possible homicide suspect

Police in East Point shot one man and arrested another Wednesday after a car chase that ended when their suspects collided with a fence in an apartment complex for seniors.

The teal Chrysler Sebring was perched over the edge of an embankment. It appeared to have been pierced by at least one bullet.

The car belonged to Jerry Davis of Henry County, who was found dead in his home Sunday, East Point Deputy Police Chief Don Chase told the AJC.

Police spotted the car and pursued it into the Norman Berry Village apartment complex in the 28oo block of Norman Berry Drive.

The car crashed and shots were fired, with at least two hitting the building, Chase said. He said the occupant was not home at the time and that the only other person injured was an officer who was bruised when his cruiser collided with the Sebring.

Chase could not identify either suspect and said he did not know the condition of the man who was shot and taken to a hospital. The other suspect was apprehended on foot, Chase said.

He said four officers from East Point and two from Henry County were involved in the shooting.

Residents said they heard multiple gunshots in rapid succession.

"It was like Vietnam all over again," said Thomas Grahm, 69. He estimated there were 25 to 30 shots fired and said police had to help the wounded suspect out of the car.

"He looked shot real well," Grahm told the AJC. "He couldn't even raise his hands."

Grahm said he couldn't tell whether the men in the Sebring were armed since he only came outside after the shooting stopped and officers told him to get back indoors.

Chase, the deputy chief, said he did not know whether the suspects were armed.

Police are charging the two men with aggravated assault because of the injury to the officer, Chase said. It's unclear whether they will had a role in Davis' death.

Police did not say how or when he died. They entered his home in the 290 block of Eagle Way in Stockbridge and found his body in an upstairs bedroom Sunday after a worried neighbor complained about his open garage door.

Investigators said Davis’ 2000 Chrysler Sebring LXI was missing. Authorities had the car’s license plate number and description -- a dent in the passenger-side front door and a Car Max license plate on the front bumper.

Some of Davis’ friends spotted a car matching that description in East Point on Tuesday, Henry County Sgt. Robert Savage told WSB Radio.

Henry County investigators then went to East Point on Wednesday to look for the car, he said.