MCRAE, Ga. (AP) – Authorities in south Georgia say a man accused of fatally shooting a police officer has been arrested.
The Telfair County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on its website that 24-year-old Royheem Delshawn Deeds was in custody. The website of the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office in Florida says Deeds was booked into jail just before 3 a.m. Monday.
Authorities say Deeds killed Eastman Patrol Officer Tim Smith about 9:30 p.m. Saturday in a residential area of that city, which is about 60 miles southeast of Macon.
Authorities say the 31-year-old Smith was responding to a suspicious person call when he encountered Deeds, exited his patrol car and was shot.
The sheriff’s office statement did not provide any additional details on the arrest, and it wasn’t immediately clear whether Deeds has an attorney.
Smith had been with the Eastman Police Department since 2011 and was a father of three.
Smith was white, and Deeds is black.