A Texas fugitive who shot a northwest Georgia deputy, prompting a massive manhunt in September, pleaded guilty Tuesday and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, according to the Conasauga Judicial Circuit’s district attorney.
Dalton Lee Potter, 29, of San Patricio, Texas, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on a peace officer, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, theft by bringing stolen property into the state of Georgia, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, DA Bert Poston said.
On Sept. 6, Potter was driving south on I-75 after stealing a cargo trailer in Tennessee, according to investigators. An automated system at the Catoosa County weigh station identified the trailer as being stolen from the tag number and alerted police.
Whitfield County deputies stopped the trailer and Potter pointed a gun at Deputy Darrell Hackney, firing several shots, according to police.
“Fortunately, Deputy Hackney’s ballistic vest took the impact and saved his life,” Poston said Tuesday in an emailed statement.
After Hackney was shot, another deputy returned fire and struck a tire. Potter attempted to drive away, but made it only about a mile due to the damaged tire, according to investigators. That’s when Potter and his passenger, Jonathan Gerald Hosmer, ran into a wooded area, setting off a manhunt.
Hosmer was arrested two days later, but Potter wasn’t taken into custody until Sept. 10 after shooting a man in Gordon County, according to police. When he was arrested, Potter denied shooting Hackney, but the incident was captured on the deputy’s body camera, Poston said.
Several local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, including most of the sheriff’s departments in northwest Georgia and several local city police departments, assisted with the search and arrests of the suspects. In addition to their charges in Georgia, both Potter and Hosmer have pending charges in Texas, Poston said.
In Gordon County, Potter has been charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery, hijacking a motor vehicle, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is expected to be transferred from the Whitfield jail to Gordon to answer to those charges, Poston said.
“Once all of Potter’s Georgia charges are resolved, it is expected that the state of Texas will seek to extradite him to face their charges as well,” Poston said.
Hosmer, charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and theft by bringing stolen property into the state, is scheduled for arraignment March 10.
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