A man wanted for killing a Georgia police officer was captured in Hilliard after Nassau County deputies found him hiding in the trunk during a traffic stop. His sister drove the car.
Royhem Deshawn Deeds, 24, of 463 Troup Rd., Helena, Ga., was arrested just before 2 a.m. without incident following a traffic stop and vehicle search of a gold-colored Nissan Altima just south of Testone Lane on U.S. 1, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said during a press conference Monday.
No weapons were recovered in the vehicle search. Also arrested without incident were Deeds’ sister Franshawn Shanae Deeds, 22, of 44 S. Johnson St., Lumber, Ga. and front seat passenger Jamil Marquise Mitchell, 32, of 410 West Ave., Lumber.
The U.S. Marshal’s Office notified the NCSO Monday around 1 a.m. that Deeds may be traveling southbound on U.S. 1 from Folkston, Ga., on his way to Gainesville, Leeper said.
His arrest comes after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation launched a manhunt and issued a warrant for Deeds after he shot and killed Eastman Police Officer Tim Smith, 30, Saturday around 9:30 p.m. in a residential area about 60 miles south of Macon, Ga., according to an Associated Press news report. A $10,000 reward had been offered.
Smith, who was not wearing a body camera, had responded to a suspicious person call when he encountered Deeds, exited his patrol car and was shot.
Just after the shooting Saturday, Deeds fled the scene in the Nissan, but it was not known if his sister and Mitchell were in the car at the time, Leeper said.
The Nissan was registered in Deeds’ sister’s name with Georgia license plate RAX 6771.
It was not known at the time of their arrest what the relationship was between Deeds’ sister and Mitchell and why the trio was traveling toward Gainesville, Leeper said.
Franshawn Deeds and Mitchell were charged with hindering the apprehension of a fugitive. The trio was booked into the Nassau County Jail. They each waived extradition at their first court appearance Monday morning as they waited for Georgia authorities to transport them back to the state, according to Leeper.
About 1:30 p.m. Monday, the Glynn County Georgia Sheriff’s Office transported all three subjects to the Glynn County Jail, where they will be housed temporarily.
While in the NCSO’s custody Deeds had not revealed a motive for shooting Smith, Leeper said Monday.
The fallen police officer joined the Eastman Police Department in 2011. He leaves behind his parents, a fiancée, three children and two stepchildren. He would have celebrated his 31st birthday Monday.
Leeper commented on Smith’s death, saying, “We’re certainly … a police officer’s job is very dangerous. We see this around the country locally or things that have happened. The Eastman, Ga. officer was just doing his job and he was killed as a result of that, so that’s very sad when that happens. It’s certainly a good day when we can find that individual that did it and arrest him.”