New details emerge about Columbus police killing Dollar General homicide suspect
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has released a preliminary report about Tuesday’s officer-involved shooting in Columbus that killed a homicide suspect and injured a police officer and a dog in a K-9 unit.
Alexis Hill, 44, was working Tuesday in the Dollar General at the intersection of Victory and Marathon drives when a customer fatally shot her in the head, said Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan.
“We got it on video,” Columbus Police Chief Stoney Mathis said, “and it’s just a cold-blooded murder.”
Deputy Coroner Dustin Harrelson pronounced Hill dead at the scene at 10:46 a.m., Bryan said.
About 2 1/2 hours later and roughly 1.2 miles away from that Dollar General, the suspect, 33-year-old Jerome Willis, was killed in a shootout with police in the parking lot of the former Muscogee Elementary School, according to Bryan.
Students and staff were inside the building, which now houses a robotics program and a family resource center. None was injured, the Muscogee County School District announced.
A police officer and a dog in the Columbus Police Department’s K-9 unit, however, were wounded during the shootout, Mathis said.
Thursday, CPD posted on its Facebook page an update on their condition. The officer, who isn’t the dog’s handler, was treated and released from a hospital.
“That officer is taking things day by day,” the post says, “and he’s doing well.”
The dog, named Havoc, had surgery at the Auburn Veterinary Hospital.
“The good news is that Havoc made it through surgery, and it went better than expected,” the post says. “He still has some recovery to do, but he’s one tough K9.”
GBI’s preliminary report about Columbus officer-involved shooting
The GBI’s preliminary report on Tuesday’s officer-involved shooting in Columbus provides new details about the incident.
“At about 11:40 a.m., CPD officers were searching for Willis, who had been reported leaving the scene of a homicide earlier that day,” the report says. “CPD officers located Willis in a parking lot in the 3800 block of Baker Plaza Drive. Officers gave verbal commands to Willis, but Willis did not comply. The officers then released the K-9 officer to apprehend Willis. Willis then produced a gun, shot toward the K-9 officer, and continued to point the gun at the officers. The officers fired several shots toward Willis, hitting Willis multiple times. Willis was pronounced deceased on scene.”
An autopsy on Willis’ body will be conducted at the GBI Crime Lab, according to the report.
“This investigation is active and ongoing,” the report says. “Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Columbus at 706-565-7888. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.”
After the GBI completes its investigation, the report says, the case file will be given to the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.
