Owen Sudduth

Name of Accused:
Sudduth, Owen Reid

Date of Arrest:
01/04/2025


Charges For Arrest:
Manufacture/Deliver/Distribute or Possess W/ Intent to Distribute Controlled Substance-Schedule I
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
[NARRATIVE on January 03, 2025
]
On Friday, January 3, 2025
at approximately 1341 hours, I, Sergeant Hill, was dispatched to [60 BLOCK] West Candler St. Winder GA 30680 in reference to a Gunshot/Stab Wound. Central Dispatch advised that the caller stated his girlfriend had been shot in the back. I began traveling to the area in my marked patrol vehicle 4459 CODE 3. Dispatch informed me that the caller stated he was in a Volkswagen Passat. As I arrived to the area, I began ing for a vehicle matching that description, but did not find it. I was then informed that the caller was possibly in the area of Rose Hill Cemetery near Melrose St. so I began traveling there. I again did not locate the vehicle in this area. Dispatch then informed me that the caller stated he was in front of the Magnolia House Restaurant (41 West Candler St.). I traveled to this location, and I observed someone standing outside of a vehicle matching the description given in the parking lot across the street from the front of the restaurant. He appeared to be flagging me down to get my attention.
I traveled to this parking lot, and made with the gray Volkswagen Passat (GA TAG# [REDACTED]). I went to the passenger side of the vehicle where I observed a female, later identified as [REDACTED BY AGENCY], bleeding from her back and in obvious pain. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was pale, but was still conscious, alert and breathing. I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] where she had been shoot and she and the male in the driver seat, later identified as Mr. Owen Sudduth informed me that she had been shot in the back. I observed a small gunshot entry wound into [REDACTED BY AGENCY] back near her shoulder blades and spine. I utilized [REDACTED BY AGENCY] sweater to maintain pressure on the wound in order to control the bleeding. As I was doing this, I observed Detective Schiltz and Officer Harris had arrived on scene. I advised them to take Mr. Sudduth away from the vehicle and begin gathering information about the events which lead to [REDACTED BY AGENCY] being shot. I then advised the medical units that it was safe for them to enter the scene and give medical attention to [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. I turned [REDACTED BY AGENCY] over into the care of paramedics from Barrow County Emergency Services Medical Unit . They later informed me that they would transport [REDACTED BY AGENCY] to [REDACTED BY AGENCY]
I approached Officer Harris where he was standing with Mr. Sudduth. Mr. Sudduth informed Officer Harris that the incident had occurred at Rose Hill Cemetery (214 West Candler St. Winder GA 30680). I gave this information to other units in the area via the radio. Mr. Sudduth stated that he had come to the cemetery to sell marijuana to someone, and that three males had shown up to the exchange on foot. I gave this information to responding units as well and instructed Officer Harris to gather good descriptions to give to the other shift units.
Detective Schiltz informed me that due to the evidentiary value of the vehicle and Mr. Sudduth’s cell phone, he wanted both of these items seized for investigation. I requested that Patrick’s Tow Service be en route to the location to take custody of the vehicle. I then placed Mr. Sudduth’s cell phone in an evidence bag, and placed it into my vehicle. Patrick’s later towed the vehicle to the police department.
Corporal Savage and Officer Lukas had detained four juveniles suspected to be involved in the incident in the area of [200 BLOCK] Apperson Dr. so I began traveling to their location in order to assist in transporting the juveniles to the police department. The juveniles were identified as, [REDACTED BY AGENCY], [REDACTED BY AGENCY], [REDACTED BY AGENCY], and [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. Officer Lukas had already ed and handcuffed [REDACTED BY AGENCY], so [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was then placed into the back seat of my patrol vehicle for transportation. I also received [REDACTED BY AGENCY] property from Officer Lukas. I placed a seatbelt over [REDACTED BY AGENCY], and then transported him to the Winder Police Department (25 East Midland Ave.). I placed him into an interview room to await Detective Schatz.
Barrow County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Stephens had located another suspect (who had separated from the four juveniles) in the area of the field house at Winder Barrow High School (272 North Fifth Ave.). The suspect, later identified as Mr. Keishod Hunt, was detained, and I requested that one of the deputies take Mr. Hunt to the Winder Police Department to be interviewed. I met with Deputy Arango, and Mr. Hunt was escorted into the police department. I removed Deputy Stephens’ handcuffs from Mr. Hunt’s wrists and replaced them with in handcuffs, which were double-locked and checked for proper fit. Mr. Hunt was placed in Patrol Office D to await interview.
I took photographs of Mr. Hunt and the four juveniles which were later attached to this case report. I relinquished custody of [REDACTED BY AGENCY] property and Mr. Sudduth’s cell phone to Captain Banks.
I then left the police department and met with Captain Curott to assist in ing the woodline between the apartments on Apperson Dr. where the juveniles had been located and Rose Hill Cemetery where the shot had been fired in an attempt to locate the firearm that had been used. The firearm was not located.
Detective Schiltz and Captain Banks informed me that Mr. Hunt was being charged with Aggravated Assault and Criminal Attempt to Commit Armed Robbery. The juveniles were also being charged with those offenses, and Mr. Sudduth was being charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute a Schedule I Controlled Substance. Detective Schiltz completed Juvenile Complaint forms for the juveniles, and informed me that they would be transported to Gainesville RYDC. Captain Banks advised me that they would need to be fingerprinted at Barrow County Detention Center before their transport. I completed arrest/booking reports for [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and [REDACTED BY AGENCY].
The night shift officers transported Mr. Hunt and Mr. Sudduth to the Barrow County Detention Center where they were turned over to the custody of the intake deputies. They also facilitated transporting [REDACTED BY AGENCY], [REDACTED BY AGENCY], [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] to the Detention Center where they were fingerprinted and then transported to [REDACTED BY AGENCY] RYDC. RYDC requested that the juveniles be medically cleared by [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and afterwards the juveniles were relinquished to the custody of the RYDC.
For more information regarding this investigation, see supplemental reports completed by Detective Schultz, Caporal Savage, Officer Lukas and Officer Harris.
[End of Narrative]
[NARRATIVE on January 03, 2025
]
On January 3, [2025
], at approximately 1341 hours, I was dispatched to a gunshot/stabbing at W Candler St and Woodlawn Ave. Winder, GA, 30680. Dispatch advised that there was one female shot in the back and was across from Magnolia Restaurant (41 W Candler St. Winder GA, 30680). I responded CODE 3 (lights and sirens) with due regard to the location.
Upon arrival, I observed Sgt. Hill at a vehicle with the back passenger window busted out, adding pressure to a female’s back. Sgt. Hill advised me to go with Detective Schatz, who asked a white male, later identified as Owen Sudduth, to step out of the vehicle and come talk to him.
Detective Schiltz and I asked Owen what had happened. Owen stated that he had gone to sell “weed” to a male who was a friend of someone he knew. I asked Owen where he had met the male, and Owen stated that it was down the road at a cemetery. I asked Owen if he was at Rose Hill Cemetery, where he had met the male. Owen stated that yes if that was the cemetery down the road. Sgt. Hill advised that the incident happened at Rose Hill Cemetery to all winder units. I asked Owen how many people were there and what was their race. Owen stated that there were three [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. One was a [REDACTED BY AGENCY], and there were two [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. I asked Owen what they were wearing. Owen noted that the [REDACTED BY AGENCY] wore black pants with white writing and a black or camo hoodie. Owen stated he didn’t know what the other two guys were wearing, but he did state that one of the [REDACTED BY AGENCY] could have been wearing the camo hoodie. I advised the Winder units of the information that Owen lad given to me.
Cpt Banks asked Owen if he could take us to where the incident occurred. Owen stated that he would.
I transported Owen to Rose Hill Cemetery so he could show me where the incident had occurred. I pulled onto Cemetery Rd., and Owen stated that the road that it happened on was the other one near the back. I then went onto Melrose St., and Owen noted that it was on the first road when you get to the cemetery. I pulled down an access road for Rose Hill Cemetery. I observed glass on the access road, and Owen stated that was where it happened, but a little further back. Barrow County Sheriff’s Office Units and I secured the scene by blocking off the road with our marked patrol units.
At approximately 1533 hours, Sgt Hill advised to bring Owen to the Winder Police Department. I transported Owen to Winder Police Department and stayed with Owen until Cpt. Banks released me.
For more information about this case, refer to Sgt. Hill’s original report.
I then left the scene with no further incident.
I met with Deputy Arango S181 at the Barrow County Uniform Division (233 E Broad St. Winder GA, 30680) to get one of the suspect backpacks, later identified as Keishod Hunt. I took possession of the backpack and took inventory of Keishod’s backpack. I filled out a Winder Police Property Receipt and turned it over to Det. Schiltz
[End of Narrative]
[NARRATIVE on January 03, 2025
]
On January 3, [2025
], at approximately 1341 hours, I, Officer Lukas, assisted Corporal Savage (W130) on Apperson Drive, Winder, Ga, 30680, when he was out with 4 possible suspects matching the description given on scene for the Gunshot/Stab wound at 214 West Candler Street (Rose Hill Cemetery). Once on scene, I observed Corporal Savage having 4 individuals detained at the front of his patrol vehicle 97 and Corporal Savage conducting an outer clothing frisk for weapons.
I approached his patrol vehicle and was informed that JUVENILE [REDACTED BY AGENCY], was one of the suspects that were named at the scene. I placed handcuffs around his wrists, double locked them, and checked them for proper fit. I did not conduct an outer clothing frisk of his person due to Corporal Savage already completing this upon my arrival. Due to having 3 other juveniles on scene, I placed [REDACTED BY AGENCY] into the backseat of my patrol vehicle 23.
Once I was informed that [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was ready to be transported to 25 East Midland Avenue (The Winder Police Department), I asked him if he had anything on his person. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] informed me he had a knife on his person in which I removed him from my patrol vehicle where he informed me that a knife was located in his waistband. I then removed a large black knife from his waistband at this time. I then located approximately 4 THC vaporizers from his jacket pockets. He was then placed back into my patrol vehicle and buckled in for his safety. I then was informed that all the juveniles on scene were to be transported to The Winder Police Department. I then placed handcuffs around JUVENILE [REDACTED BY AGENCY] wrists, double locked them, and checked them for proper fit. He was placed into my patrol vehicle until further instruction. I was later instructed to place [REDACTED BY AGENCY] into Sergeant Hill’s patrol vehicle 59 for her to transport him.
After I transported [REDACTED BY AGENCY] to the police department, I traveled to [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and spoke with JUVENILE [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. The reason for speaking with [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was that the 4 juveniles located on Apperson Drive prior, were in front of [REDACTED BY AGENCY] residence with [REDACTED BY AGENCY] being outside once officers arrived along with having prior knowledge that [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and Keishod are friends with each other.
When I began asking [REDACTED BY AGENCY] about what transpired at Rose Hill Cemetery, he informed me he had no knowledge of anything that transpired or knew about who was involved. After talking with [REDACTED BY AGENCY] for a period of time, he began to inform me that at approximately 1317 hours, he received a phone call on the social media platform Snapchat from [REDACTED BY AGENCY] about wanting to hangout and walk around. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated that he did not hang out with them due to him being asleep at the time.
When I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] about who had the firearm, he originally told me that [REDACTED BY AGENCY] had it, but it was not [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. He stated it was another [REDACTED BY AGENCY] who was a [REDACTED BY AGENCY], approximately [REDACTED BY AGENCY] years old, and had [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. It was later determined that [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was talking about [REDACTED BY AGENCY].
I then spoke with [REDACTED BY AGENCY] once more after officers finished ing the nearby wooded area for the potential firearm that was used on scene. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated that he knew [REDACTED BY AGENCY] had a firearm but was unsure if the firearm was thrown into the woods. No further information was given to officers from [REDACTED BY AGENCY] about what transpired at Rose Hill Cemetery.
[End of Narrative]
[NARRATIVE on January 03, 2025
]
On 01/03/2025
, at approximately 1341 hours local time a gunshot call for service was dispatched to Winder Police units in the area of the Magnolia Restaurant located at 41 West Candler Street, Winder, Georgia, 30680.
I was currently on a D.U.I. traffic investigation at Horton St., and Lily Dr. Clinton’s Tow service was on location at the time and once he cleared the suspect vehicle from the roadway, I began to investigate the events of the gunshot call for service. It was identified that the original crime scene was at 214 West Candler St. Winder, Ga, The Rose Hill Cemetery. Having been familiar with the area, I know there is a large trail within the wood line which has several outlets exiting onto Brookview Terrace, so I conducted a security check of the area.
At approximately 1355 hours local time, Oft. Harris, badge number W121 gave a description of possible suspects involved in the shooting. He stated there were possibly 4 juvenile suspects wearing black hoodies with white lettering on the back, black pants, a Camo jacket hoodies. One [REDACTED BY AGENCY], [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and a possible [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. It was at 1356 hours local time; I arrived on Apperson Dr. and as I was approaching Brookview Terrace I visually identified the 4 suspects based off of their clothing and ethnic backgrounds. The were walking Southbound on Brookview Terrace, then turned West onto Apperson Dr.
It was at this time, I turned around and stopped them before they arrived at [REDACTED BY AGENCY] I then ordered all of them to stop and to get in front of my patrol vehicle, they were hesitant, but they did follow my lawful order. At 1356 hours’ time all four individual were detained. I conducted a quick Terry pat down and I then informed them of why they were detained. Later, all four suspects were identified as [REDACTED BY AGENCY], [REDACTED BY AGENCY], [REDACTED BY AGENCY], and [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was wearing a black hoodie jacket, [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was wearing a Camo hoodie, [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was wearing a black hoodie with white lettering on the back and black pants, and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was wearing a Camo hoodie.
Now, at approximately 1359 [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was identified over the air as a person of interest. I then asked the four individual whose name is [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and one of the individuals raised his hand, so at 1400 hours local time [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was identified, and he was place in handcuffs by Ofc. Lukas, badge number W143 and then placed in his patrol vehicle. To get a better understanding of the events that took place, I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY], [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] if they were with [REDACTED BY AGENCY] all day and all three stated that they met [REDACTED BY AGENCY] at the Winder Barrow High school at 1330 hours local time. After speaking with my chain of command all four individuals were to be transported to the Winder Police Department to be interviewed. I then transported [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] without issue. Once we arrived at the Winder Police department, they were both place into offices until investigators were able to conduct an interview with them. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] were transported separately and by other units.
Once all individuals were secured and safe at the Winder Police department, I went back to the origin of the crime scene to conduct a systematic grid to locate the firearm used. As I was approaching the scene, I observed a newer black in color ChevySilverado. I ran the tag and the registered owner was identified as [REDACTED BY AGENCY], OLN [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. It appeared to me once I was seen, the vehicle absconded from the area. I then followed it to the R.O. residence at [REDACTED BY AGENCY]., Winder, Ga, 30680.
At this point I ed from the crime scene, exiting the cemetery and into the woodline, through several trails that exited onto Brookview Terrace, nothing was recovered. I then relocated to [200 BLOCK] West Candler St. Winder, Ga and I ed the owner. I asked him for permission to his property for a firearm and he agreed. I then ed his property since it backs up to the trails from the cemetery and because the owner’s wife had seen one of the suspects walking through their property. Once the was completed, nothing was recovered. Directly across the street is Winder-Barrow High school, so I ed from where it was thought to believe the suspect (Keishod Hunt) crossed W Candler St onto the school grounds. From that point all the way to the tennis courts, where this suspect was captured, I conducted a , and nothing was recovered. At this point, I have exhausted all resources and areas to , in addition it was the end of my shift, so I went back into service, nothing follows.
[End of Narrative]