Holly MatkinMacon, GA – The suspect accused of shooting an off-duty Henry County detention officer in the chest and murdering a second victim during an attack at a McDonough apartment complex earlier this month was arrested at a local motel on Sunday.
The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) confirmed that 32-year-old Brentson Bernard Thomas was apprehended on Nov. 13 after 10 days on the run, WXIA reported.
Thomas has been charged with murder and two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the deadly attack.
He is also wanted for assault out of Clayton County, and for similar charges out of Miami-Dade County in Florida, WXIA reported.
Police are still searching for 29-year-old Dimarie Ayanna Coulter, who allegedly helped Thomas evade capture in the wake of the fatal shooting.
Coulter is wanted for felony hindering apprehension or punishment of a criminal, WXIA reported.
She is described as being five feet, seven inches tall, weighs approximately 135 pounds, and has brown eyes and brown and black hair.
Coulter also frequently wears wigs.
Two other suspects, Joseph Kimber and Lashonda Lay, are already in custody for allegedly assisting Thomas, according to WSB.
They have both been charged with felony hindering apprehension of a fugitive.
Investigators said the fatal shooting occurred at the Hadden Place Apartments on Nov. 4, WXIA reported.
The unidentified Henry County detention officer was flown to a hospital in critical condition in the wake of the shooting and has since been stabilized, according to WSB.
He was shot multiple times in the attack, WXIA reported.
The second victim, identified by his family as 33-year-old Michael Brown, did not survive, according to WAGA.
Few details have been released regarding the shooting, WXIA reported.
The Henry County Sheriff’s Office and Crime Stoppers Atlanta offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to Thomas’ arrest.
It is unclear whether anyone will be collecting that reward.
The USMS said their officers had been tracking Thomas as he traveled south from McDonough, bouncing from motel to motel, WXIA reported.
“We knew where he was,” a USMS spokesperson said. “We were just looking for the right time.”
Thomas was apprehended at a Bibb County Econo Lodge shortly after 1 p.m. on Nov. 13, WXIA reported.
Brown’s family said he and Thomas both lived in apartments at the complex where the deadly shooting occurred and that they knew one another, but that they were not friends, WAGA reported.
Brown was also a maintenance worker at the complex.
Brown’s mother, Alicia Prado, said her son’s boss warned him earlier the day of the shooting that Thomas was acting strangely and seemed to be upset with Thomas for some reason.
“So, my son, I guess he went to him and was like, ‘what’s going on,’ and [Thomas] shot him,” Prado told WAGA. “He shot him and his best friend.”
She said Brown and the wounded Henry County detention officer had been friends since childhood.
