GBI identifies officers who exchanged fire with suspect in Thursday incident

Published 3:51 pm Monday, September 10, 2018

MOULTRIE, Ga. — A Moultrie police officer and a Colquitt County sheriff’s deputy both returned fire during a Thursday night shooting incident that led to the death of a Colquitt County man.

It is not known yet who fired the fatal shot.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation provided an update Monday afternoon.

“Two law enforcement officers have been determined to have fired their weapons during the gunfire exchange with [Nick] Warnell,” said an email from Jamy Steinberg, special agent in charge of the GBI office in Thomasville. “They are Deputy Chris Thomas with the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office and Officer Daniel Lindsay with the Moultrie Police Department. All weapons fired will be submitted to the GBI Crime Lab for testing to determine which weapons fired which rounds during the incidents involving Warnell.”

On Thursday, according to earlier releases from the GBI, officers from the Moultrie Police Department and Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office were assisting the Georgia Department of Community Supervision by contacting several probationers in a small mobile home park off Bob Hiers Road in southeastern Colquitt County.

A gray or silver Chevrolet Tahoe, later determined to be driven by Nick Warnell, arrived in the area, and officers tried to make contact with him. The driver was uncooperative and drove away, the GBI said.

“An agent and an officer in separate vehicles followed the Tahoe to the intersection of Hall Road and Hempstead Church Road, where a traffic stop was initiated,” the GBI said.

The driver became combative, officers used a Taser stun gun on him without success, and he put the SUV in reverse. One of the officers was stuck in the V of the open door and was dragged a considerable distance before he could get free. In the process, he was apparently run over by the vehicle.

“Warnell then produced a rifle and the other officer fired his weapon at the Tahoe,” the GBI reported. “The Tahoe continued retreating from the officers’ location where it stopped and the driver, Warnell, exited and began firing at the officers with a rifle. None of the officers were hit, but their vehicles were both struck as they sought cover from the gunfire.”

The officers radioed for backup, and a Colquitt County deputy passed the SUV on Cannon Road a few miles from the original incident location. He turned around on the vehicle, and Warnell pulled off the opposite side of the road and stopped. He then began firing at the deputy’s vehicle and hit it in the windshield, roof, hood, A-pillar and other areas, the GBI said.

The deputy was able to return fire with a rifle from a position of cover, but Warnell then drove away and his vehicle disappeared.

Help arrived from Brooks County, Cook County and other law enforcement agencies. During a subsequent search, the Lowndes County SWAT team in an armored vehicle located the SUV, which had crashed into a wooded area.

Warnell was found dead inside the vehicle, the GBI said.

Since then it has been determined that Warnell died of a gunshot wound, the GBI said.

All law enforcement officers who were sent to the hospital for treatment have since been released, Steinberg said.

The investigation is active and ongoing, he said. Agents continue to conduct interviews and collect and process evidence related to the case.

Anyone with information is urged to call GBI Thomasville at (229) 225-4090 or the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office at (229) 616-7430.