Shots at DeKalb officer spark 10-hour manhunt

New York fugitive caught at hotel near Stone Mountain.

A 10-hour manhunt Tuesday morning ended with the arrest of a fugitive from New York accused of shooting at a DeKalb County police officer.

He’s also accused of hiding overnight in someone’s home, then stealing that person’s car.

U.S. Marshals captured Sharif Thompson just after 11:30 a.m. at a hotel on Memorial Drive near Stone Mountain, DeKalb police Lt. Lonzy Robertson said.

A traffic stop started the chain of events around 1:30 a.m. at South Hairston Road and Mainstreet Park Drive. According to police, Thompson and a woman were in the car. When police learned of a warrant for his arrest in New York, he drove off but the car got stuck on a hill.

Then, as the officer ran toward the car, “the suspect got out of the vehicle and began firing on the officer,” Robertson said. The officer returned fire, and Thompson ran away. Neither was hit.

Officers later discovered he went to a home in the area and stayed there overnight.

Then, he is accused of driving the homeowner’s car to the Haven Hotel Extended Stay, where authorities caught up with him. They surrounded the hotel and eventually arrested Thompson on a charge of aggravated assault on a police officer, Robertson said.

Details about the New York charges against Thompson were not released

It is unclear if Thompson was injured, but an ambulance was called, Robertson said.

The woman who’d been in the car with him also was detained. Police did not release her name.