TROUP COUNTY, Ga. — An Alabama man’s death is under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation after a chase that started in Opelika, Ala. ended in Troup County.
According the GBI, Justin Scott Roberts of Opelika fled what the Opelika Police Department said was a domestic incident on Friday.
OPD said in a statement on Friday that their officers responded to a domestic dispute and welfare check after a mother said shew as worried for her child’s safety after being assaulted by the child’s father.
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Opelika police said the father was identified as Roberts, saying he had taken the child and drove off in his truck, a black Nissan Titan.
“Roberts was wanted for felony assault on a police officer, stemming from a previous incident, and due to the presence of a juvenile in the vehicle and concerns for their immediate safety, officers continued the pursuit onto I-85 North,” police said.
Roberts would not stop driving when police tried to do a traffic stop, so officers from Alabama chased Roberts until he crossed the state line into Georgia.
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The Georgia State Patrol was told that there was a potential non-custodial kidnapping involving Roberts’ truck, the GBI said.
GBI said around 1:51 p.m., GSP and Troup County deputies found the truck and tried to perform a traffic stop, but Roberts refused and officers gave chase.
A state trooper performed a PIT maneuver on Roberts’ truck to stop the chase, ending it on HWY 27 at Interstate 85 in Troup County.
The GBI said when Roberts and law enforcement officers stopped driving after the PIT maneuver, deputies and troopers heard a single gunshot from inside of Roberts’ Nissan Titan truck.
The troopers and deputies went to the truck and found Roberts with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and a three-month old child in the truck who did not appear harmed, according to GBI.
Medical personnel were called to the scene to provide care for the infant and Roberts was pronounced dead.
The GBI is investigating the incident and anyone with information is asked to call the Regional Investigative Office in Columbus at 706-565-7888.
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