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Man charged in Georgia officer killing caught in car trunk

Royhem Delshawn Deeds, 24, of Helena, Ga., was arrested early Monday along with his sister and another man, Leeper said.

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Following the fatal shooting of a police officer Saturday night, a manhunt was launched in central Georgia.

All waived extradition. Leeper said the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office transported the three to the Glynn County jail later Monday. He said one his deputies spotted the vehicle early Monday traveling south on USA 1. His sister, Frashawn Shanae Deeds, and a passenger, Jamil Mitchell, were also arrested.

“After the driver and passenger were detained, a search of the auto revealed Royheem Deeds was hiding in the trunk of the vehicle”, Leeper said.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, officer Tim Smith was responding to reports of a suspicious person call in Eastman around 9 p.m. Saturday.

“Officer Smith exited his patrol vehicle to investigate and was shot by the individual”, the statement said.

Though Smith returned fire, the suspect, later identified as Deeds, got away, authorities said.

Authorities say Smith, 30, was shot after exiting his patrol auto.

In addition to not having a body camera, Officer Smith also was not wearing a bullet proof vest, says The New York Daily News.

Dutton confirmed 30-year-old Smith had been dispatched on a call about a suspicious person with a gun in a residential area of the rural city. Deeds was arrested there last August when he was being sought in connection with the Lumber City shooting. The police officer reportedly encountered Deeds as he got out of his cruiser, and was immediately shot and killed.

Smith had been with the Eastman Police Department since 2011. Both of the suspects in the break-in and police shooting were juveniles. The officer leaves behind two sons, a daughter, a stepson and his fiancée, Chelsea Clark.

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Smith followed his own father, an officer of 29 years, into law enforcement.

Royheem Delshawn Deeds was arrested in the shooting death of Eastman Ga. Patrol Officer Tim Smith