New copter helps nab
carjacking suspect
By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com
A suspect in an Atlanta carjacking
was apprehended Monday morning after a manhunt through a wooded area in
central Fayette County.
The suspect was caught several
hours after bailing out of the stolen BellSouth van in the front yard
of a home off Tyrone Road following a pursuit by a Tyrone police officer
just after 8:45 a.m.
Detectives believe the suspect's
name is Timothy Dwayne Griggs, 30. He refused to give his name but he
was identified through fingerprints, said Sgt. Belinda McCastle of the
Fayette County Sheriff's Department.
Griggs was positively identified
as the carjacker by the victim, a BellSouth employee, and the Tyrone officer
who pursued the stolen vehicle, said Maj. Bruce Jordan.
The manhunt was conducted by
the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, which used its Special Enforcement
(SWAT) Team, K-9 unit and helicopter during the search. Deputies snuck
up on the suspect as he was pinned up against a tree, trying to hide from
the helicopter, Jordan said.
Local authorities were alerted
of the stolen vehicle's location through an electronic tracking device,
Jordan said. That allowed deputies to block off a section of Tyrone Road
with stop sticks at both ends to deflate the tires of the vehicle, Jordan
said. But the pursuit never got that far.
"We pretty much had him
boxed in," Jordan said.
After the suspect ditched the
vehicle, the main concern was that he might try to carjack another vehicle,
Jordan said, noting that several retired persons lived in the area.
The carjacking incident was
caught on surveillance video at the Atlanta convenience store, Jordan
added.
This was the first high-profile
use of the department's new Hawk 1 helicopter unit, which was the subject
of some political controversy with the Fayette County Commission recently.
The helicopter was purchased with money seized from drug dealers.
"That's exactly the scenario
we wanted it for," Jordan said. "We did get it in the air in
time despite the weather, and it worked well."
|
