ByWTOC Staff|August 14, 2020 at 3:13 PM EDT - Updated August 14 at 5:07 PM
SCREVEN COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - The Georgia Bureau of Investigations has arrested the Georgia State Patrol Trooper that was involved in a chase and shooting in Screven County.
According to the GBI, 27-year-old Jacob Gordon Thompson has been charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. Thompson reportedly fired a shot that killed 60-year-old Julian Edward Roosevelt Lewis in Screven County on Friday, August 7.
The GBI reports that a trooper attempted to stop a Nissan Sentra, driven by Lewis, for a traffic-related offense on Stony Pond Road in Screven County. The Sentra refused to stop, and the trooper pursued the car down several county roads.
The trooper performed a PIT (Precision Intervention Technique) and the car stopped after running into a ditch. The trooper then fired one round, hitting Lewis, according to the GBI.
Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene.
Thompson has been fired from GSP. He will be booked into the Screven County Jail.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety issued a statement on Friday, Aug. 14:
“The Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS) terminated Jacob G. Thompson today, Aug. 14, 2020, due to his “negligence or inefficiency in performing assigned duties; or commission of a felony.” Thompson was hired on July 28, 2013.
As stated in a Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) press release, former Trooper Thompson was arrested on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault in Screven County relating to an officer involved shooting which occurred on August 7, 2020. The GBI investigation is active and ongoing.
In addition to an internal Office of Professional Standards investigation, DPS utilizes the GBI to independently investigate incidents of an officer involved shooting and relies on their unbiased findings in those cases.”
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