DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A man accused of shooting a K-9 in Bartow County, leading authorities on a full-day search, is dead, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Saturday.
Investigators said Geoffry Frank Walker was found on Friday around 4:45 p.m. at a hotel in DeKalb County. He allegedly then ran through neighborhoods and into the woods near the sanitation department located off Leroy Scott Drive in Decatur.
Officers instructed Walker to drop his weapon when he was found, but he refused. That's when GBI said Walker fired his weapon, and officers returned fire.
GBI said he died on the scene and that the medical examiner would determine the cause and manner of death.
An investigation into the case will be completed by the GBI and handed over to the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office once done.
This is the 79th officer-involved shooting investigated by the GBI in 2023.
The scene in Bartow County began Thursday around 4:35 p.m. when deputies said they saw a 2010 Honda Civic on Hwy 411 near the Interstate 75 interchange with Walker inside. The 30-year-old was wanted out of Bartow County after a family violence incident on Wednesday at the Cartersville Walmart along Market Place Boulevard. Walker also has additional warrants for another family violence incident in Floyd County from earlier in the day.
Officials said deputies began pursuing Walker, who crashed after they performed a PIT maneuver. Walker eventually hopped out and ran away. K-9 Athos was released to help track Walker down, the sheriff’s office said. Multiple shots were heard, and K-9 Athos was found injured, authorities said. He was taken to an animal hospital and is expected to be OK.
There was a massive search in the area, but the suspect was still on the run Friday morning. That's when the sheriff's office released the name and photo of the suspect they were looking for.
It's been an active day for law enforcement in DeKalb County. The scene near Leroy Scott Drive is about seven miles away from where authorities were searching for another suspect wanted in a separate case Friday afternoon.
The DeKalb sheriff and other law enforcement officers told residents in the Juliette Road area in Stone Mountain to stay indoors; they were looking for Demetrius Nicholas, a murder suspect wanted in connection with a killing that happened in June. A deputy was hurt at that scene; it is unclear if he was grazed by a bullet or hurt by shattered glass.
11Alive is working to learn more about both cases.
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