Sandy MaloneOchlocknee, GA – The convicted felon who stole a deputy’s gun and shot two Thomas County sheriff’s deputies last week turned himself in to authorities on Sunday and even returned the pilfered weapon.
The incident occurred just after midnight on Jan. 11 when deputies were attempting to serve a warrant on 25-year-old Tyler Keith Henderson, WCTV reported.
The Thomas County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) said deputies got into an altercation with Henderson and the suspect somehow got ahold of one of the deputy’s guns and tried to shoot three deputies.
TCSO Captain Steve Jones told reporters that one deputy was shot under their bulletproof vest, WCTV reported.
Capt. Jones said a second deputy took a round in his ballistic vest.
Henderson shot at a third deputy but missed.
The wounded deputies were transported to a nearby emergency room for treatment, WCTV reported.
One was released the next day and the other deputy was supposed to be release over the weekend.
A six-day manhunt ensued for the convicted felon who was on probation for robbery, aggravated assault, and burglary charges when he shot the deputies, WCTV reported.
The warrant the deputies were trying to serve was in connection with another robbery in Decatur County in December of 2021, WSB reported.
TCSO announced in a statement on Sunday that Henderson had been taken into custody at about 2:30 p.m. with help from “what seems like every Law Enforcement Agency in the area (and the US MARSHALS).”
TCSO Captain Tim Watkins, the department’s chief investigator, said Henderson’s family notified authorities on Jan. 16 that he had been in contact with them, the Thomasville Times-Enterprise reported.
Capt. Watkins said the family said Henderson planned to turn himself in.
“He turned himself in to one of the marshals on the task force,” the captain said.
Henderson told U.S. Marshals that he had been alone and nobody had helped him evade capture, the Thomasville Times-Enterprise reported.
Authorities believe that Henderson had stayed in the Ochlocknee area since he shot the deputies.
Capt. Watkins said that when Henderson turned himself in, he also turned in the firearm he was accused of stealing from a deputy and using to shoot at three law enforcement officers.
TCSO said that numerous local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies participated in the search for Henderson, including helicopters from the Georgia State Patrol and the Leon County, Florida Sheriff’s Office, the Thomasville Times-Enterprise reported.
In addition to the probation violations that Henderson was charged with in the original warrant, he is now facing three counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer, three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Capt. Watkins said there may still be additional charges against Henderson, the Thomasville Times-Enterprise reported.
Holly Matkin
