The man accused of hitting a Clayton County police officer has an extensive criminal record that includes four prior sentences in Georgia state prisons. And late Wednesday, he remained on the loose.
A massive manhunt continued for Thomas Areeco Paige, 36, of Hampton, one of two suspected burglars wanted after their pickup truck allegedly struck the police officer Wednesday afternoon. Police said Paige should be considered armed and dangerous.
The 11-year officer, Michael Hooks, was taken to Atlanta Medical Center in serious condition with a head injury, police said. The officer was conscious and expected to survive his injuries.
Hooks was responding to a robbery in progress around noon in the parking lot at the old Kmart distribution center on Old Dixie Highway. He was hit when the two suspects fled in their car, Clayton Police Maj. Rick Webster said.
Police apprehended one of the suspects after the truck wrecked in a ditch, but Paige remains at large. He’s described as a black male, roughly 6 feet, 4 inches tall and 250 to 280 pounds, Webster said, adding that he was last seen wearing all black with a black stocking cap. The name of the suspect taken into custody was not released.
Dozens of officers were on the scene looking for the suspect. Earlier Wednesday, police closed off Frontage Road and Old Dixie Highway and two lanes on I-75 as they searched for the alleged burglar.
“One of our own has been hurt and we come together in a time of crisis,” Webster said Wednesday night.
Paige has been incarcerated four times since 2001 following convictions in Fulton and Cobb counties, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. He was last released Dec. 18, 2009, after spending two years behind bars after a conviction in Cobb County on burglary and various other charges, records show.
In 2004, was convicted in Fulton County on several theft by receiving charges and spent just over two years behind bars, according to state records. Paige spent about four months in prison in 2001 a year in prison beginning in October 2002.
Anyone with information about the suspect’s whereabouts is asked to contact Clayton County police.
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