The GBI is investigating an officer-involved shooting in Sugar Valley, GA. The Gordon County Sheriff’s Office asked the GBI to conduct an independent investigation on January 24, 2023. One man was shot and killed. No officers were injured during the incident.
Preliminary information indicates around 1:00 a.m., a Gordon County Sheriff’s Office deputy initiated a traffic stop on Cook Road on a truck driven by a man, later identified as Billy Dewayne Couch, age 51, of Sugar Valley. Couch failed to stop and sped away from the deputy. Couch went to 523 Pocket Road, Sugar Valley, GA and drove to the back of the home. The deputy blocked the truck with the deputy’s patrol car and instructed Couch to show his hands. Couch got out of the car. The deputy continued to give Couch verbal commands. During the incident, the deputy shot Couch. Couch was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
The GBI will complete an independent investigation and once complete, the case will be given to the Gordon County District Attorney’s Office for review.
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At about 1 a.m. Tuesday morning, a Gordon County Deputy Sheriff attempted to stop an automobile near Resaca. The vehicle sped away and a pursuit ensued. The pursuit ended some minutes later near a private residence in the Sugar Valley Community. As he (the deputy) was attempting to arrest the man who’d fled, the deputy shot him.
The individual who was shot is now deceased. The deputy was uninjured.
As is policy in such cases and at the request of the Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is conducting an independent investigation of this matter.
