Officer Fires at Fleeing SUV Before Madison County Crash

The incident began around 10:30 a.m. on November 1, when an Athens-Clarke County police officer stopped a black SUV on Oakmont Court in Winterville to arrest Derrell Dukes, 33, of Athens, on outstanding warrants. A Winterville officer arrived to assist. Passenger Peyton Ragland, 28, of Summerville, got out as officers directed Dukes to leave the SUV.

Dukes opened and then shut his door before driving away, with a woman still in the SUV's front. An officer discharged one shot toward the moving vehicle. The gunfire hit no one, and the SUV continued into neighboring Madison County, where it crashed on Spratlin Mill Road.

Dukes and the woman sustained minor injuries in the crash and were taken to a nearby hospital. They were treated and released. Deputies at the Clarke County jail processed Dukes and Ragland on outstanding warrants; authorities said those warrants were unrelated to the pursuit and shooting.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is conducting an independent investigation at Winterville police’s request. Authorities have not identified the officer who fired or the woman who was in the SUV. The GBI is asking anyone with relevant information to contact its Athens Regional Investigative Office at 706-542-7901.

GBI Probe Must Scrutinize Officer’s Shot at Fleeing SUV

An officer fired a shot toward a moving SUV during a November 1 pursuit that began with a traffic stop in Winterville. The shot struck no one, but the incident raises a central accountability question: the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now examining the shooting independently at the request of Winterville police.

The SUV’s driver, Derrell Dukes, 33, drove away as officers sought to arrest him on outstanding warrants. An officer fired as the vehicle accelerated, and police pursued it into Madison County, where it crashed. Dukes and a woman riding in the front passenger seat sustained minor injuries and were treated at a hospital before being released.

The investigation will take place while key details remain undisclosed: authorities have not named the officer who fired or identified the woman in the SUV. The warrants cited for Dukes and passenger Peyton Ragland were separate from the pursuit and shooting. Those facts make a careful review of the use of gunfire essential, rather than treating the flight and arrest warrants as a substitute for scrutiny. The GBI is seeking information from witnesses.

Fleeing Driver’s Pursuit Ends in Crash and GBI Investigation

A traffic stop to arrest a man on outstanding warrants turned into a pursuit after Derrell Dukes drove away from officers in Winterville on November 1. An officer fired one shot toward the moving SUV; no one was hit by gunfire. The chase ended when the vehicle crashed in neighboring Madison County.

Dukes and a woman in the front passenger seat suffered minor injuries in the wreck and were treated and released from a nearby hospital. Clarke County Jail deputies booked Dukes and passenger Peyton Ragland on outstanding warrants. Authorities said those warrants were unrelated to the shooting and pursuit.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is conducting an independent review at Winterville police’s request. The probe is the appropriate next step after an officer fired during a rapidly unfolding flight from a stop. Investigators have not released the officer’s identity or the passenger woman’s name, and the GBI has asked people with relevant information to contact its Athens office. The available account establishes that officers were attempting an arrest when Dukes drove off, and that the shot caused no injuries.