Zachary Stephens

Name of Accused:
Stephens, Zachary Edward

Date of Arrest:
10/12/2024


Charges For Arrest:
Disorderly Conduct
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.]
On Friday, October 11th, 2024
at approximately 2308 hours I was dispatched to [200 BLOCK] Olive Vine Church Rd NE, Rydal, Georgia 30171 in reference to a dispute involving intoxicated individuals and firearms.
Prior to my arrival, Bartow Dispatch advised responding deputies that the caller did not know if a firework was being shot off or a gun. Upon my arrival, I made with Tommy Nation who was standing next to a truck in front of the residence and [WITNESS ] who was sitting inside of a truck in front of their residence. I observed neighbors looking toward this residence from their houses. I asked Tommy if he was just shooting fireworks or shooting a gun. Tommy stated he was shooting fireworks. Tommy then said he was shooting earlier. I asked Tommy if he had a gun on him currently and Tommy and [WITNESS ] said yes. I asked Tommy if there were two guns and Tommy said one was on him and one was in his house. I located a loaded black Smith and Wesson M&P pistol on Tommy’s right side in a holster. I cleared the firearm and a bullet fell out of the chamber. Due to the nature of the incident, I did not look for this one bullet. I took posession of the Smith and Wesson pistol and placed the pistol into my patrol vehicle for officer safety.
I asked Tommy what had happened. Tommy said he and Zachary Stephens were hanging out and shooting guns. Tommy said Zachary is currently having an altercation with his wife so he is spending the night in a tent in Tommy’s back yard. Tommy said Zachary was having a bad time right now. Tommy said he and Zachary got “into it” and he and Zachary “tussled.” I asked Tommy why they both went hands on. Tommy told me they both called each other “queer” back and forth. Tommy said Zachary grabbed him by his shirt and threw him to the ground so both fought back and forth on the ground. Then Zachary let go so Tommy said he let go. Tommy then said he threw Zachary down. Tommy said him and Zachary then made up.
Tommy told me again he and Zachary were shooting earlier for fun in the backyard. I asked if the two were drinking at this time and Tommy said they were shooting before they started drinking. Tommy said the drinking happened after they were shooting. I asked Tommy if he were injured from the altercation and Tommy said no. I asked Tommy who called law enforcement and Tommy said his wife [WITNESS ] did. Tommy advised Zachary called his wife [WITNESS ] names because she was concerned for his wellbeing.
I then went and spoke with [WITNESS ]. I asked [WITNESS ] what had happened. [WITNESS ] said she has been gone almost all day. [WITNESS ] said Tommy told her over the phone while she was away from the house Zachary would be sleeping in a tent in the backyard for the weekend. [WITNESS ] said she figured it had something to do with Zachary’s marriage issues. [WITNESS ] said when she got she observed Zachary and Tommy to both be intoxicated and described the two of them as being “completely shitfaced.” [WITNESS ] said Tommy was gathering an air mattress from inside of the house and Zachary came and tried to enter the house. [WITNESS ] said she told Zachary he is not allowed in the house. [WITNESS ] advised this is because her daughter is inside of the house. Tommy then left out of the house with the air mattress with Zachary and went to the backyard.
[WITNESS ] advised she heard a lot of yelling from the backyard as she was watching a show on her tablet. [WITNESS ] came out of the house to see what was going on and she observed Zachary and Tommy intertwined together under a carport covering. [WITNESS ] said Zachary and Tommy were yelling and screaming at each other. [WITNESS ] said this happened before when both Zachary and Tommy got drunk and fought each other. [WITNESS ] said Zachary attempted to leave that time before and wrecked his car into her car because of how drunk he was. [WITNESS ] told Zachary and Tommy if they did not stop fighting she was calling law enforcement. Prior to our arrival, [WITNESS ] advised Bartow Dispatch Zachary was about to leave in his work truck while being intoxicated. [WITNESS ] advised us Tommy is an alcoholic. [WITNESS ] said Tommy and Zachary did not separate and stop fighting each other. [WITNESS ] said Zachary told her she was “fuking crazy” and needed to leave her husband alone. [WITNESS ] said Tommy and Zachary then got up off the ground and began laughing. [WITNESS ] said she went inside and paced back and forth thinking Tommy and Zachary were going to do something else. [WITNESS ] came back out of the house and said she called her mother to come pick her up at that point. [WITNESS ] said she overheard three loud pops and did not know if it was a gun or a firework. [WITNESS ] said Tommy claimed to her neighbors were shooting off fireworks. [WITNESS ] said she could smell an odor that smelled like a firework under the carport. [WITNESS ] said she does not know what a gun smells like after it has been fired. [WITNESS ] asked “What the fuk was that?” to Tommy and Zachary and one of them said “Are you happy now?”
According to other deputies, Zachary was unwilling to speak with law enforcement regarding his role in this incident.
While inspecting the firearm, deputies advised three bullets were missing from the pistol recovered from Tommy’s person (not counting the bullet that went missing when I cleared the firearm). I ran the firearm’s serial number through Bartow Dispatch and the firearm came back with no record indicating it has not been reported stolen. Deputies inspected the backyard of the residence near where [WITNESS ] was reporting the three pops were coming from and located three holes in the ground where it appears a firearm was shot at the ground three times. A silver bullet casing matching the bullets in Tommy’s pistol was found next to the three holes. The two other bullet casings were not located. A photograph of these holes were taken with my county issued Bodyworn Camera with deputies pointing with the ends of their boots to where the holes are in the ground in the picture. I recovered the spent bullet casing and collected it to be submitted as evidence.
I went back to Tommy and asked him if at any point tonight Zachary had a gun in his possession during their argument. Tommy stated no. I asked Tommy if he was wanting to prosecute for the physical aspects of their argument and Tommy said no. Tommy advised they were just having a “friendly argument.” I told Tommy people were telling me that they heard three pops after the argument and I asked Tommy if he knew what it was. Tommy said he had no idea. I told Tommy it was loud enough for others in the neighborhood to hear it so I was asking why he couldn’t hear the pops. Tommy said he heard the pops and said “whether it came from us, I can’t tell you.” I asked Tommy what the pops sounded like and Tommy said it sounded like a “.22”. Tommy then said “we shot.”
Another deputy came to Tommy and I with an Alcosensor. With consent, Tommy blew into the Alcosensor. Tommy blew a 0.145 on the Alcosensor. I placed Tommy under arrest for Reckless Conduct and Discharging a Firearm While Under the Influence of Alcohol. I placed handcuffs on Tommy, checked for proper fit, and double locked the handcuffs. I conducted a patdown incident to arrest. Tommy advised he wanted his wife to have all of his belongings from his pockets other than his cellphone and his wallet containing his money. I then placed Tommy into the back seat of my county issued marked patrol vehicle.
I then went to Zachary who was inside of another deputy’s vehicle. I told Zachary he is being arrested for Disorderly Conduct. I asked Zachary if he wanted to press charges against Tommy for the physical altercation. Zachary stated he did not want to press charges against Tommy.
Both Tommy and Zachary were escorted to the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center where they were turned over to the jail staff without incident.
A state warrant was taken out for Zachary for Disorderly Conduct. A state warrant was taken out for Tommy for Reckless Conduct and Discharging a Firearm While Under the Influence of Alcohol. The charge of Affray is not being charged due to both parties declining prosecution for the other.
The Smith and Wesson M&P Pistol was placed into evidence at the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office along with the shell casing found in the back yard next to the three bullet holes in the ground. The magazine that was located in the pistol was also submitted into evidence with fourteen (14) bullets in the magazine.
[End of Narrative]