Norris Miller

Name:
Miller, III, Norris McNeil

Date of Booking:
09/26/2023

Reason(s) For Booking:
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT

AGGRAVATED ASSAULT

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

I contacted the complainant, [VICTIM #1], at [1100 BLOCK] West Thomas Street at the request of the Milledgeville Police Department regarding an incident that took place earlier this date at [600 BLOCK] Highway 22 West.

[VICTIM #1] advised at approximately 1030 hours this date, she went to the above listed address to retrieve money owed to her from Norris Miller; the money in question being a repayment for a small loan used to purchase cocaine. [VICTIM #1] stated she was given a ride to the location by a friend, [VICTIM #2] (who was also present at the time of my contact with [VICTIM #1]), due to not having a working vehicle of her own. [VICTIM #1] said when they arrived at the location, she and [VICTIM #2] were unable to enter the driveway due to the front gate being closed, which prompted the both of them to cross through the fence in the front of the residence.

[VICTIM #1] added once she and [VICTIM #2] made it onto the property, Miller came out onto the front porch holding a large firearm, which she suspected to either be a rifle or shotgun. [VICTIM #1] then stated upon seeing the firearm, she and [VICTIM #2] both began to leave the property to avoid any further issues, at which point they heard several shots being fired from behind them. While [VICTIM #1] was providing her statement, [VICTIM #2] was present and corroborated the events as they were described. Both [VICTIM #1] and [VICTIM #2] advised once the shots were fired, they fled the location.

Once the initial statements were made, I drove to the residence [VICTIM #1] mentioned to confirm the address due to her not being familiar with the numerics. Once the address was confirmed, she was returned to West Thomas Street.

After going over the entirety of the situation with Lieutenant Brandon Towe, two warrants for Aggravated Assault were sworn against Miller. Once the warrants were signed off by the Baldwin County Magistrate Court, I along with Lieutenant Towe, Sergeants Ashley Brown and Shawn Tapley, as well as Deputies Kelli Goss, Keante Butts and Dawson Smith went to the incident location to serve said warrants.

Once all units were on scene Deputy Butts and I approached the front door of the residence while Sergeant Brown and Deputy Smith secured the back of the residence to prevent Miller from potentially fleeing on foot. Lieutenant Towe, Sergeant Tapley and Deputy Goss maintained a perimeter in the front of the residence for support. Contact was then made with Norris at the front door where he was placed under arrest in double locked handcuffs and placed in the back of my patrol unit.

While on scene, Deputy Butts was able to recover the firearm, a Smith & Wesson MP15 rifle (Serial Number: TU29678), along with three 30 round P-MAG magazines. Five separate .223 caliber shell casings were also located in the front yard; the shells were listed in evidence as numbers 1-3 and 6-7 due to placards 4 and 5 having been used to mark the location of [VICTIM #1]’s phones which were dropped as she was fleeing the area. All pieces of evidence were logged and placed into evidence locker #002.

Prior to leaving the location, Miller’s wife, [REDACTED], provided a copy of security camera footage of the incident. In the video, [VICTIM #2] could be seen in the Miller’s yard, with Miller just out of camera view, talking before walking away and saying something about a gun; the audio quality made it hard to determine the extent of what was said. Another angle of the footage showed [VICTIM #2] back at the property line, crossing through the fence and off of the property, when a series of five shots were heard. The security footage, along with photographs of the incident location and location of the shell casings were added to evidence.

Miller was transported to the Baldwin County Law Enforcement Center where he was turned over to jail personnel without incident.

[End of Narrative]