Athens Man Gets 25 Yrs for Assaulting GSP Trooper with AK-47
Courtesy Parks White FB page
A former Madison County man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty last week to firing an AK-47 assault rifle at a State Patrol trooper.
Northern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Parks White said 24-year old old Timothy Damond Carruth Jr. entered the guilty plea in Madison County Superior Court last week.
Carruth pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on a peace officer, attempting to elude and other charges stemming from a high-speed pursuit in January 2020.
GBI spokeswoman Nellie Miles said on January 21, 2020, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was requested by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia State Patrol to investigate the shooting incident.
Miles said just after 10p that night, Trooper Jordan Ginnel attempted to make a traffic stop on a vehicle being driven by Carruth, who at the time was living in Colbert, GA.
Miles said Carruth attempted to get away in the vehicle and a chase ensued.
The trooper performed a “P.I.T.” maneuver, causing Carruth’s vehicle to become stuck on the side of GA Highway 72.
Carruth then got out of the vehicle and allegedly began firing at the trooper with an assault-style rifle. View GSP trooper photos here
The trooper returned fire, however, neither the trooper nor Carruth were injured by gunfire.
Miles said Carruth then ran into the nearby pasture and woods.
He was found approximately two hours later with the help of a Georgia Department of Corrections K-9 unit.
Last week, Superior Court Judge Jeffery Malcolm sentenced Carruth as a recidivist, due to prior felony convictions, to a term of 25 years, with 18 to serve in prison without the possibility of parole.
Carruth was currently on probation in Athens for an unrelated aggravated assault conviction.
On his Facebook page, White said Carruth had a “substantial criminal history of violent felony convictions in Athens.
White noted Carruth was given probation over and over or very short custodial sentences but had never faced a prison sentence for his crimes.