‘Cops flying everywhere’: How deadly drama unfolded as Thomson suspect fled
THOMSON, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A suspect in a homicide fled when authorities showed up at his home Thursday, setting off a chase that wrecked a patrol vehicle before the suspect fatally slammed his pickup into a big-rig.
Suspect Devicco Moss, 43, of Thomson, died in the fiery crash that blocked a major highway for much of Thursday.
Moss was being investigated in the April 13 fatal shooting of Mario Clemons in the 1800 block of Ridgeview Drive, and that’s why authorities came to his home in the 100 block of Faubus Street at 9:50 a.m. Thursday.
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There to serve a search warrant were officers of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, McDuffie County Sheriff’s Office, Richmond County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team and Georgia Department of Public Safety Motor Carrier Compliance Division.
But he saw them coming.
When Richmond County SWAT officers approached, Moss sped away in a blue Chevrolet Silverado pickup, according to the GBI.
McDuffie County deputies and state DPS officers chased after Moss.
Tyeicka Brown was a witness to the wild chase, with at least a dozen police cars zooming after the pickup.
“I was like, ‘What’s happening?’” she said. “It’s early in the morning, and we just see cops flying everywhere.”
During the pursuit, one state officer’s vehicle crashed and overturned on Wrightsboro Road. The officer is OK but was taken to a hospital for evaluation, just in case.
What led to hourslong south Augusta SWAT standoff?
An armed standoff in south Augusta ended peacefully Tuesday afternoon after more than two tense hours.
The chase continued until the pickup crashed into a tractor-trailer at Ridge Road and Washington Highway. The pickup caught fire, with fierce orange flames leaping up and black smoke billowing into the sky.
Moss was pronounced dead on the scene at 10:27 a.m., McDuffie County Coroner Paul Johnson said. The body was sent to a state crime lab for an autopsy.
The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured.
Richmond County officers assisted on the case at the request of the GBI and McDuffie County Sheriff’s Office, but weren’t involved in the chase.
“My understanding is that the suspect fled the scene – we did not pursue,” as that would be a decision by state and McDuffie County law enforcement, Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Chief of Staff Lewis Blanchard said.
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The fiery wreck closed all lanes of Georgia Highway 10 between Thomson and Wilkes County for much of the day, authorities said.
Thomson residents managed to capture most of the incidents in Facebook videos:
It’s a memory that will stick with Brown for a long time.
“Just wild,” she said. “It was just too much.”
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