The Other McCain

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Nationwide Manhunt for Ga. Cop Killer

Posted on | October 22, 2018 | Comments Off on Nationwide Manhunt for Ga. Cop Killer

Left to right: Tafahree Maynard and Isaiah Pretlow; Officer Antwan Toney.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

With the search for Gwinnett County Police Officer Antwan Toney’s alleged killer about to shift from a localized manhunt into a nationwide fugitive investigation early Sunday night, word came that a SWAT team was serving a search warrant on a residence just down the street from where the fatal shooting occurred.
But the shooting suspect, 18-year-old Tafarhee Maynard, was not there. Gwinnett Police spokesman Sgt. Jake Smith said it was “50/50” that Maynard was still in Snellville.
“It’s equally possible he got in a car and is in Arizona now,” Smith said.
James Joyner, acting commander of the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, echoed the uncertainty over Maynard’s whereabouts.
“I can’t say he’s not in the area. I can’t say he is in the area,” he said Sunday afternoon. “But we have to broaden our search.” . . .
[Saturday night] Toney and another officer approached a vehicle reported as suspicious by a resident on Crump’s Landing in unincorporated Snellville. Investigators believe there were three others in the car, though only one has been identified: 19-year-old Isaiah Pretlow, 19, who was arrested late Saturday night and charged with aggravated assault. Bond was denied.
Several shots were fired, but Smith said police are confident Maynard fired the the bullet that felled Toney. . . .
Neighbors who heard the gunfire were stunned by the violent reaction after an incident that had all the trappings of a routine traffic stop.
Police initially suspected the suspects were smoking marijuana, but could not confirm that as of Sunday evening.
“For an 18-year-old to go from smoking a joint to just start shooting is insanity,” said Scott Elzy, whose friend, Rick Green, lives just a few doors away on Crumps Landing Road, where the incident occurred.
Green said that corner of the neighborhood, with scattered vacant homes, has become a popular, and somewhat threatening, hangout for area teens.
“I don’t get out of my truck without my gun in my pocket,” Green said. “I got my pistol on me right now.”
The suspects sped away in their car before crashing nearby. Pretlow, Maynard and the vehicle’s other occupants fled on foot. . . .
Maynard’s capture may bring closure but no solace for those who knew Toney best.
“He was a warrior,” said friend Reginald Pierre of Snellville. Toney always wanted to be the first man on the scene, Pierre said, but it wasn’t a macho thing.
“He believed in justice,” he said. “He thought of himself as the guy who could defuse a tense situation. To protect and serve meant something to him.”

Talk about a bad neighborhood! If the law-abiding citizens are afraid to leave their homes without a pistol, it must be rough.

Why did this teenage dopehead decide to kill a cop? Notice that police already had a mugshot on file for Maynard. That would indicate he had a prior record, perhaps as a juvenile. It’s possible Maynard was on probation and/or wanted on an outstanding warrant, and to be caught with marijuana and a pistol? Yeah, he was going to prison if the cops got him, so he decided to put that pistol to use. Stupid dopehead. Georgia is a death penalty state. Maynard killed a cop. Pray for the officers searching for this armed and dangerous suspect, who has nothing to lose.

 

 

Category: Crime, Georgia

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