The man accused of gunning down an Eastman police officer on Saturday night had only months earlier pleaded guilty to shooting and wounding a man in a neighboring county.
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Patrolman Tim Smith was killed when he responded to a suspicious person call and encountered the suspect, Royheem Delshawn Deeds.
Royheem Delshawn Deeds, 24, was arrested in Nassau County, Florida, on suspicion of committing a crime, the newspaper USA Today reported, citing Georgia investigators.
The U.S. Marshal alerted the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office to the possibility of Deeds fleeing toward Gainesville, Fla.
Smith, 30, was responding to a suspicious person call when he encountered Royheem Delshawn Deeds, exited his patrol vehicle and was shot, Dutton said.
Officer Tim Smith had been a member of the Eastman Police Department since 2011.
Agent Whitley says Smith called in his injuries and wasn’t wearing a body camera.
That attack occurred during an otherwise peaceful protest against the fatal shootings by police of Alton Sterling on July 5th in Louisiana, and Philando Castile the following day in Minnesota.
A reward of $15,000 was offered leading to the arrest of Deeds.
Smith leaves behind three children, a stepson and a fiancée (Chelsea Clark, right).
The sheriff said Deeds’ sister, 22-year-old Franshawn Deeds, was driving with one passenger, 32-year-old Jamil Marquis Mitchell.
Further details about the suspect’s arrest weren’t available.
Smith’s father, Lewis Smith, is employed with Glenwood police in Wheeler County, which is less than an hour from where the shooting took place, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said.
Though Smith returned fire, the suspect, later identified as Deeds, got away, authorities said.
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.
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Smith exited his patrol vehicle and the incident quickly turned violent, according to the GBI.
