Suspect Arrested After Georgia Deputy Shot In Face During Traffic Stop
ATLANTA (AP) - A sheriff's deputy in Georgia is "doing much better" but may lose his left eye after he was shot in the face during a traffic stop south of Atlanta, authorities said.
Harris County Sheriff Mike Jolley said Sunday that deputy Jamie White's condition has improved after he was shot by the driver of a vehicle that he had pulled over. Joe Lee Garrett, 24, was arrested in Alabama just hours after the shooting happened about 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
"Thank God the bullet didn't hit his brain," Jolley said.
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Police said Garrett turned himself in to the Phenix City Police investigator in Alabama and was transported to the Russell County Jail. He is being charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, and is currently being held as a fugitive from justice in relation to the shooting.
Jolley said Garrett will have a court hearing Monday and is expected to be transported back to Harris County. He faces additional charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, obstruction, possession of a firearm during a felony, and fleeing and attempting to elude.
Police said three people were inside a 1994 blue Chevrolet Caprice on I-85 southbound, about 80 miles south of downtown Atlanta, when they were stopped by the deputy.
White took Garrett's driver's license and spoke with Garrett and the front seat passenger for about seven minutes. Garrett then pulled out a gun and shot White above the left eye, Jolley said. Once White was shot, Garrett exited the vehicle, got his license and drove away.
There were two women in the vehicle - one in the front passenger seat and the other back set, Jolley said. WTVM-TV reports that police arrested Lytishia Horace Sunday in connection to with shooting. She is being held as fugitive from justice in the Russell County Jail. Horace will be extradited from Alabama to Georgia. Police are still searching for the other woman. The car was caught on the deputy's dash cam video.
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