Man wanted on murder charge in Union City arrested on I-285 after chase

Authorities arrested a wanted man Wednesday afternoon after a chase in south Fulton County.

Credit: WSB 24-hour Traffic Center

Credit: WSB 24-hour Traffic Center

Authorities arrested a wanted man Wednesday afternoon after a chase in south Fulton County.

State troopers arrested a murder suspect Wednesday afternoon on I-285 following a pursuit.

About 12:30 p.m., a trooper tried to initiate a traffic stop on a Chevrolet Camaro in the South Fulton area, the Georgia State Patrol said. Calvin Woodard of Lithonia, who was wanted on a murder charge out of Union City, was driving the vehicle.

He’s charged in the shooting death of Byron Davis, who was among four people shot in Union City during a violent Friday afternoon in July, AJC.com previously reported. Two of the other gunshot victims died, and all four shootings took place within an hour, police said.

Woodard is accused of fleeing from Wednesday’s attempted stop, which was along U.S. 29 near Bluffington Road. A chase ensued, traveling through South Fulton and into East Point, the GSP said.

At some point, Woodard threw a handgun out of the window along with multiple bags of suspected narcotics, the GSP said. Those items were later recovered.

The pursuit continued onto I-285 North, and a trooper performed a PIT maneuver near Camp Creek Parkway to end the chase, the GSP said. Woodard was taken into custody without further incident. No one was injured.

The chase ended a little after 12:45 p.m. It shut down a right lane of the interstate, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

Troopers turned the suspect over to Union City police. The suspected narcotics were handed over to the GBI, while the firearm was given to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.