Name:
Potate, Timothy James
Date of Booking:
08/30/2023
Reason(s) For Booking:
Reckless Conduct
Discharge of firearm-under the influence
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.]
On August 30th, 2023 at 038 I was dispatched to [5500 BLOCK] W Chapel Hill Rd, Douglasville, GA in regards to someone discharging a firearm. While en route the complainant, [WITNESS #1], advised dispatch that he heard the gunshots coming from the above mentioned address.
He also stated that the male that lives there, Timothy James Potate, was depressed, owned a handgun, and had stated in the past that if anyone came to his home he would kill himself. He stated also that he had heard multiple rounds being fired from Timothy’s home.
Upon my arrival I made contact with [REDACTED], the father of Timothy. [REDACTED] advised me that had had just arrived at the home a few moments before me and that Timothy was passed out on the front porch of the home. I asked if Timothy had a handgun with him. He stated that he did, but he had already moved it away from Timothy.
I then approached the porch and found Timothy slouched forward in a rocking chair with an almost empty bottle of Beefeater Gin sitting on the ground next to him. Timothy was sitting with his eyes open but was not responding to me trying to wake him. He was also not answering me when I asked what had happened tonight.
Due to this I had EMS start toward the home to check evaluate Timothy. Once Deputy Jackson (#299) and Deputy Harris (#125) arrived on scene I stepped away and retrieved the firearm from [REDACTED]. I cleared the firearm (M&P Shield, S/N; HNK7593), which had an empty magazine and one 9mm round in the chamber, and ran it through dispatch to ensure it wasn’t stolen, as well as placed it inside of my patrol vehicle until we were able to establish what had occurred.
I then spoke to [REDACTED] and asked about Timothy’s past. He stated that in recent weeks Timothy had been depressed and has also started drinking alcohol in excess. While speaking to [REDACTED] about this Timothy stood up and started yelling “fu*k you” at [REDACTED]. He also attempted to walk toward [REDACTED], but was too unstable to take more than a step.
Due to his sudden outburst and aggressive behavior I detained Timothy in handcuffs and sat him back in the rocking chair he had just stood up from. Timothy was only wearing gym shorts during our interaction. It was also around this time that Deputy Jackson located some spent 9mm shell casings on the floor of the porch we were on, near where Timothy was sitting.
Due to us locating the spent shells around Timothy that matched the firearm on scene, Timothy’s obvious signs of intoxication, and the fact that [WITNESS #1] had heard gunfire coming from the home Timothy was placed under arrest for Reckless Conduct and Discharging a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
We then started to walk Timothy to my patrol vehicle, at which point EMS arrived on scene. We attempted to walk him to the Ambulance to be checked by EMS, but as he neared my patrol vehicle he started to tense up and refused to walk anymore. Due to this we decided to go ahead and place him in the back seat of my patrol vehicle. He kicked at the side of my patrol vehicle in an effort to not be placed inside of it, but we were able to lay him in the back seat.
Once there EMS came over and checked him and found no reason for him not to be transported to the Douglas County Jail. I then returned to the porch and photographed the scene, as well as collected five spent 9mm shell casings. The shell casings, the live round, and the pistol were all collected and logged into evidence. I then transported Timothy to the Douglas County Jail, where he was turned over to book-in staff.
While en route Timothy advised me that he was shooting at a Coyote in his yard. We did not locate a Coyote in the yard or any signs that any animal had been shot. I also completed warrants on Timothy for the above mentioned charges and placed the completed warrants in the warrants box in the patrol muster room.
[End of Narrative]