Suspected killer of officer in Ga. remains on loose
SNELLVILLE, Ga. — Two teenage suspects, including one who is still being sought by police, are facing charges in connection with the fatal shooting of a Georgia police officer, authorities said Sunday.
Authorities believe that 18-yearold Tafahree Maynard fatally shot officer Antwan Toney on Saturday afternoon in the Snellville area, Gwinnett County police said in a statement. Maynard remained at large Sunday and faces charges of aggravated assault and felony murder.
“Tafahree Maynard needs to turn himself in,” Gwinnett County Police Chief Butch Ayers said at a news conference.
Police said Maynard wasn’t found in a house in the county that was searched Sunday evening. Authorities said in a statement that a SWAT team was sent to serve a search warrant for Maynard at the home “but he was not there and is still at large.”
A second suspect, 19-year-old Isaiah Pretlow, was charged with aggravated assault, accused of pointing a firearm at an officer during the pursuit after Toney’s fatal shooting.
Toney died at a hospital from his injuries, police said. The 30-year-old from Southern California had been with the Gwinnett County Police Department for nearly three years.
Toney and other officers responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle near a school, police said. When the officers approached, someone in the vehicle opened fire and Toney was hit. Then the vehicle sped off.
According to police, Pretlow drove away after the shooting, crashed a short distance away and fled along with other occupants. An officer found Pretlow, who pointed a gun at the officer. Pretlow was not hit by the shots the officer fired, and he fled into a wooded area. He was arrested by U.S. marshals.