A Macon man was taken into custody at gunpoint after a traffic stop on a stolen Jeep Compass near Ocmulgee East Boulevard, according to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
Stolen, says the owner and law enforcement. The suspect claims he borrowed the Jeep.
What happened: Sgt. Reginald Tillman, who works in the sheriff’s office’s High Enforcement Action Team spotted the Jeep Compass and pulled it over. When the driver stopped, he immediately tried to get out of the vehicle and ignored commands from the sergeant, according to a report. That prompted Tillman to draw his weapon and arrest the suspect at gunpoint.
How the Jeep got reported stolen: According to the report, the driver had borrowed the Jeep from a friend, then refused to give it back and stopped responding to the owner entirely. Under Georgia law, keeping someone else’s property after being asked to return it can support a theft charge, even if the person originally had permission to use it.
Additional charge: The man was also cited for driving with a suspended or revoked license, meaning the state had already taken away his legal right to drive before this stop.
The path forward: The driver faces at minimum a citation for driving on a suspended or revoked license. Whether prosecutors pursue a theft charge will depend on what the formal case file shows and whether the owner chooses to press the matter in court.
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
- B.T. Clark
- B.T. Clark
- B.T. Clark
- B.T. Clark
