Posted on 03/11/2005 6:39:06 AM PST by mhking
This is a breaking news situation.
A man entered a courtroom in the Fulton County Courthouse this morning and shot a Fulton County Sheriff's deputy, a clerk and a judge; there are reports from both WSB and WAGA, the judge is deceased.
The perp has carjacked multiple vehicles -- now on his third -- and is still at large.
I've just come from downtown Atlanta, and the city is a madhouse.
But if he had been..., maybe we would be discussing a judge shooting a perp in open court.
This kind of thing has happened before in the past. Craig MacTavish, a former NHL player who is now a coach, spent a year in jail back in the mid-1980s on a vehicular manslaughter charge when he was involved in a drunk driving accident in which the other driver -- a woman from Maine, I think -- was killed.
There was a mid-afternoon report of someone alleging to be him calling in a death threat during a news conference on which the prosecutor made an appearance.
If, in fact, it was him calling from the hostage's residence, it'd probably be a good time for them to get out the good china, 'cause they're about to have a lot of guests.
This is bad on so many levels, that there is not much to say that has not been said. One might hope that off this, some major stable cleaning might happen in Atlanta (where I used to live, met my wife, and got out 16 years ago)
But, it's not just Atlanta - the rot has almost ruined it all.
BLITZER: Tell us what he's like. You obviously spent some time talking to the suspect, who's still on the loose right now. What kind of man did he appear to be to you?HAZEN: Well, he's a very intelligent, articulate man -- fairly well educated. He's very analytical, very logical. He's also very big and athletic. He's an avid basketball player. ...
If you talk with him and spend time with him, you get the impression that he's very laid back, very easygoing. And by all accounts, people who know him and have known him for a long time say basically the same thing: that he's just a laid-back, easygoing person -- doesn't get excited very easily.
BLITZER: But he does have a long criminal record, is that right?
HAZEN: No. The only criminal record he has, really, was a conviction when he was in college for ... disorderly conduct. And that would be a misdemeanor if it were here in Georgia.
BLITZER: What were the circumstances surrounding the rape allegation which he was facing?
HAZEN: He was involved with a woman for a number of years, a long-term relationship, about eight years. And that relationship began to deteriorate, and then he began to see another woman. That woman became pregnant and that, of course, caused tremendous stress within the relationship with his original girlfriend. And that relationship was kind of falling apart anyway. So this was just the icing on the cake.
He wanted to remain with her. She did not want to be with him, she says, and that gave rise to her claim that he attacked her back in last August. He claimed they were reconciling and they had consensual sex.
That's why I think this guy got off too easily.
Could be an Arkacide. Arkansas is pretty darn close to Georgia.
He'a computer geek (says the Engineer Geek), he might be monitoring this thread for all we know. If so, he doesn't know where he is either. :)
I just heard that, too.
The next question that I might ask is: does a car and/or anyone seem to be missing from that parking garage?
I was going to post earlier that I was relieved when you mentioned your wife was home (commandeerig the tv..LOL and good for her) after you had said this morning she was downtown.
Now it's surreal to think how close y'all may have both come to this creature (I saw your other post about your own travels of the day).
Stay safe.
Thanks for updating me. Did they trace the call or were they even able to? This is just getting scarier.
They are talking about that now, who hasn't come home for work yet. Add to that if the person was single and not expected by anyone you have someone in a whole world of hurt.
Not that I know of, Chief Pennington just activated all Atlanta Police to 12 hour shifts, plus he apparently has both deputies guns and ammo.
Sorry but I am laughing. This Dude has murdered three people, all of Atlanta is looking for him including FBI and those looking really really want to kill him. And he is Freeping? For some reason that just has me really laughing.
Another update I'd missed:
Local channel 2 is reporting the guy got weapons and ammo from both deputies. Smart crooks are an anomaly, but you're right, they're the scary kind.
Ohio is closer than Arkansas.
600 miles to Little Rock from here and only 466 miles to Cincinnati
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