Texas fugitive caught near Resaca
♦ Potter is charged with shooting a deputy and a Gordon County man.
DALTON — Dalton Lee Potter, the Texas fugitive who launched a three-day manhunt after allegedly shooting a deputy in Whitfield County, was caught late Wednesday after shooting a person in the area of Bandy Lake near Resaca, investigators said.
Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood and Gordon County Chief Deputy Robert Paris gave a brief press conference on Thursday
just before noon to speak with reporters.
Chitwood said Potter was found in the woods in northern Gordon County by deputies following a shooting earlier in the night at an area residence. Deputies found Potter in a densely overgrown swampy area in northern Gordon County and took him into custody.
“There was a home invasion that led to the exchange of gunfire between our citizen and the defendant, Potter,” Paris said.
Noah Cloer identified his father, Eddie Cloer, as the victim. He was feeding animals in his yard when Potter attacked, shooting him in the arm and grazing his head, Noah Cloer told WTVC. Eddie Cloer was able to fire back and Potter fled, his son said.
Potter was also grazed in the head by a shot. He was treated at a hospital and released. His booking photos show him with a bandage wrapped around his head.
Just after midnight on Monday morning, Potter is accused of firing multiple shots at Whitfield County Sheriff’s Deputy Darrell Hackney during a traffic stop.
Hackney was struck, but his ballistic vest saved him. He and another deputy returned fire, but Potter drove away south on Interstate 75.
Potter wrecked the truck and escaped into the woods on foot, the GBI said.
Hackney is scheduled to return to work next week and Chitwood said his wound was very minor.
The GBI also revealed Wednesday that Potter had explosives in the truck when they were pulled over.
“The bulk of their items they had ( were in the truck),” Chitwood told reporters.
He and 47-year-old Jonathan Hosmer are accused of stealing a trailer in Chattanooga and were pulled over
on I- 75, near the Whitfield- Gordon county line.
The GBI’S bomb disposal unit will get rid of the explosives, the agency said.
Potter, from Leakey, Texas, was wanted in Texas charges of larceny and theft of more than $2500. In addition to the five counts of aggravated assault Potter was originally charged with in Whitfield County, he now also faces the following charges.
In Whitfield County: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during a commission of a felony, felony obstruction, theft by receiving, possession of an explosive by a convicted felon.
In Gordon County, Potter faces three counts of aggravated assault, three
counts of aggravated battery, two counts of burglary, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and felony obstruction.
Hosmer, 47, was arrested Tuesday after surveillance video recorded him leaving the truck crash.
Also wanted in Texas on larceny and theft charges, Hosmer is charged in Georgia with possession of methamphetamine, bringing stolen property into the state, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.