Austin Fleming

Name:
Fleming, Austin Allen

Date of Booking:
09/30/2025

Reason(s) For Booking:
KIDNAPPING

AGGRAVATED ASSAULT

THEFT BY TAKING – FELONY

POSSESSION OF TOOLS FOR COMMISSION OF A CRIME

ENTERING AUTOMOBILE OR OTHER MOTOR VEHICLE WITH INTENT TO COMMIT THEFT OR FE

POSSESSION OF FIREARM OR KNIFE DURING COMMISSION OF OR ATTEMPT TO COMMIT CER FELONIES

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 Tuesday, September 30th, 2025, I, Sergeant J. Hooper, was parked in the parking lot of Rabun Metal Products located at 4428 Old 441 South in Tiger, Ga.

I observed a black SUV pull into the parking lot beside me, and a female exited the vehicle, later identified as [VICTIM #1]. I rolled down my driver’s window. I greeted the female, who then stated that her Ex and she had just driven by, and he had stolen her cellphone and smart watch and was hiding in her vehicle with a knife earlier.

I activated my body-worn camera and exited my vehicle to obtain the description of the car, then passed the vehicle information along to Corporal A. Figueroa to try to locate and stop it. The car was a silver van with the logo (SPIBOSS) on the side and bore a North Carolina tag of [REDACTED] as well.

[VICTIM #1] stated that she and her Ex (Austin Fleming) had broken up around a month ago, and she moved out of their residence and moved back home with her mother’s home in Tiger, Ga. [VICTIM #1] stated that the night prior, they had a nasty fight over the phone where Austin ended up making comments about hurting himself, and then stopped contact.

[VICTIM #1] reached out to a crisis hotline for a mobile assessment. Still, if Austin was not willing to comply, they couldn’t help. So, [VICTIM #1] called the Murphy Police Department for a welfare check and never received a call back from them. However, Austin then contacted her, saying, “Thanks for making everything worse.” At this time, [VICTIM #1] blocked Austin on all social media platforms and then changed her phone number. However, she later found an Instagram request from Austin with numbers associated with the name, which she deleted.

This Morning, [VICTIM #1] stated she got up and got in her car to go to work, and while driving north on Old 441, Austin sat up from the back seat and scared [VICTIM #1], stating he had a weapon and she needed to listen to him and turn the car around and head back to Stonewall Creek, where his van was parked.

[VICTIM #1] complied and turned around, driving back. [VICTIM #1] stated that her mother’s driveway was located just past Stonewall Creek and that she was planning to drive home. However, as they approached Stonewall Creek, Austin reached up from the back seat and jerked the steering wheel into Stonewall Creek.

Once they arrived at Austin’s van, they sat and talked for a long time, with him remaining in the back seat, and he made comments like “today was going to be…. she just needed to follow his rule,” and that he wasn’t going to hurt her, but made statements that he had other weapons. Austin then had [VICTIM #1] text her boss that she was sick and wouldn’t be coming into work today. [VICTIM #1] texted her coworker that she might be ill from food poisoning, possibly from someone’s food, in hopes that her coworker would know it wasn’t true, since the coworker was familiar with the situation involving Austin.

Austin then made [VICTIM #1] give him her phone and smartwatch and told her she better follow him back to his home so they could get “closer.” He then got in his van while [VICTIM #1] followed. While driving north, Austin and [VICTIM #1] passed me sitting at Rabun Metal Products, and [VICTIM #1] slowed down. Once a gap was available, [VICTIM #1] turned around and came back to my location.

At this time, [VICTIM #1] and I cleared the back seat and rear compartment of her vehicle to ensure it was clear of anything Austin may have left behind. At 09:47, a Clayton Police officer called me to advise that he had checked the tag on traffic cameras and was unable to locate it. He suggested that Austin may have gone west towards Towns County to return to Murphy, NC, and that he would have dispatched the bolo to Towns County.

At 09:52, I requested Rabun County investigator C. Channell to respond to my location. While waiting, I advised [VICTIM #1] of FAITH and the services they provide, should she choose to use them.

At 10:01, Investigator C. Channell arrived on the scene and took [VICTIM #1] to interview; the case was then turned over to him. I returned to service.

A short time later, the Towns County Sheriff’s Office located Austin driving his vehicle and stopped him, placing him under arrest. Once Inv. C. Channell secured warrants for Austin, I drove my patrol vehicle to the Towns County, Rabun County line, where a transfer of custody took place.

I placed Austin in handcuffs behind his back, checked for fitment, double-locked them, and then transported Austin to the Rabun County Detention Center, where he was turned over to detention staff with no incident.

[End of Narrative]