A man believed to be behind Saturday morning’s fatal shooting in Cordele is behind bars after exchanging gunfire with arresting officers at a motel in Perry early Sunday.
According to GBI Special Agent JT Ricketson, agents from the GBI’s Americus office and the Crisp County Sheriff’s Office were following leads on Saturday morning’s shooting that left 31-year-old Shawna Ware dead and 33-year-old Sheena Jones in critical condition.
The agencies identified the alleged shooter as James L. Smith, and tracked him to the Scottish Inn in Perry.
Around midnight, Perry Police and the Houston County Sheriff’s Office met with the other agencies to develop a plan for Smith’s arrest on murder charges.
Ricketson says after getting a search warrant for the motel room, the Houston County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team entered around 5 a.m. and Smith fired at the officers, hitting their ballistic shields at least twice.
Two officers reportedly returned fire before pulling back and giving commands from outside the room as Smith kept shooting.
Ricketson says within 8-10 minutes, officers got Smith in custody and took him to the Houston County Jail.
Investigators are still at the Scottish Inn and Ricketson says no one was injured in the raid.