$10K Reward Offered In Death Of Fulton County Deputy

ATLANTA, GA — The Fulton County deputy who was shot and killed Thursday morning was described as an "outstanding young man." The remarks were made by Fulton County Sheriff Patrick "Pat" Labat at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

The deputy, who was 24-years-old and was from Mississippi, was found dead around 4:30 a.m. in a car crash at Bolton and Peyton roads.

When officers arrived, they found a man dead from an apparent gunshot wound in the driver's seat of a car that had crashed, police said. Atlanta Police Maj. Peter Malecki said the deputy was driving his personal car.

It is unknown if the deputy was shot before or after the crash, police said.

Labat said the deputy's identity is being withheld, pending the arrival of his family.

Crime Stoppers has increased the reward being offered in the case from $2,000 to $10,000, leading to the arrest and indictment of the suspect.

A person has come forward, sharing with police that they were driving a van that was involved in the crash with the deputy, Malecki said. The driver of the van saw the deputy's car "driving erratically in the middle of the road," and when they went to pass the car, the van hit the deputy's car, Malecki said.

The person is cooperating with authorities and is not believed to be directly connected to the shooting, Malecki said.

It is unknown if the shooter was a pedestrian or a person in another car, Malecki said.

The deputy was recruited from a smaller law-enforcement agency in the south and had been with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office for less than a year, working the department's Grady Hospital detention unit, Labat said.

"He was the life of the party," Labat said. "He was very good-spirited. … He was what you would want in a deputy."

Labat confirmed the deputy worked a shift Wednesday night, but officials with the sheriff's office said he was off-duty at the time of his death.

Police ask anyone with information in the case to call Crime Stoppers at (404) 577-8477 or the Atlanta Police Department at (404) 614-6544.