With suspect dead, is Thomson slaying case closed? Why GBI says no

THOMSON, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Even though a suspect died in a traffic accident after he fled from officers, a Thomson homicide investigation is still active.

Devicco Moss was being investigated in the April 13 fatal shooting of Mario Clemons in the 1800 block of Ridgeview Drive.

But as authorities closed in on him Thursday morning at his home in the 100 block of Faubus Street, he saw them coming and took off in his pickup.

Officers chased after him in a pursuit that wrecked a law enforcement vehicle and that ultimately ended when Moss’ pickup slammed into a big rig in a fiery crash that claimed his life.

A Georgia Department of Public Safety officer’s vehicle also flipped during the pursuit, but the officer is OK, although he went to a hospital to be checked out.

Authorities went to Moss’ home to execute a search warrant in connection with Clemons’ slaying.

We wanted to follow up on Clemons’ killing, so we asked Pat Morgan with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation whether the case was still open after Moss’ death.

Morgan said the investigation is still very much active.

He said he can’t tell us about Moss’ suspected role in the killing or whether there are other suspects, because it’s still an active investigation.

“This homicide case is not closed,” Morgan said.

We looked into Moss’ past dealings with the Georgia court system, and only found a civil case and a complaint for recovery of child in 2018.

The homicide case comes amid an outbreak of deadly crime across the CSRA that’s left about 200 people dead over the course of three years. The outbreak has affected communities large and small on both sides of the Savannah River, and McDuffie County has not been immune.

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