Suspect arrested after wide-spread search

By Matt Aiken, Jake Cantrell & John Bynum / The Nugget

The multi-agency search for Gerardo Jonathan Flowers came to an end Monday afternoon after the suspect deemed “armed and dangerous” by the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office was arrested after an urgent manhunt.
“I just want everybody to know that we do have Mr. Flowers in custody,” said Sheriff Stacy Jarrard in a Facebook post immediately following the arrest. “… I want to thank the men and women of the sheriff’s office that have been pursuing [him] all night.”
The search for Flowers, who was wanted on charges out of Hall and Habersham counties, began Sunday afternoon after a call of a domestic dispute came into the sheriff's office.
"So [Sunday] about 1 o’clock, they get a call to Waffle House in reference to a disturbance, a subject causing problems in the parking lot," Lt. Alan Roach of the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office said. "He’s cutting the tires on a vehicle in the parking lot. Shortly thereafter, they get a second call because now someone from inside the Waffle House has gone out and confronted Mr. Flowers...It was a domestic dispute from a presently separating couple. When that second call comes in, the officers then increase their response with lights and sirens. Mr. Flowers hears the siren coming, jumps back in his truck and heads south on 400."
Flowers later cut across the median and led the officer on a high speed chase exceeding speeds of 100 mph through parts of Hall and Lumpkin County, according to officials. After a turn onto Stowers Road, the chase ended as Flowers crashed his vehicle and then reportedly fired shots at the pursuing officer.
“There’s a real sharp curve in the road, he loses control and runs off the shoulder of the road and strikes a tree," Roach said. "After he strikes the tree, the officer is approaching the vehicle.”
That's when things escalated even more, as Flowers allegedly fired through the windshield of his crashed vehicle at deputy Kyle Kupari.
"As he’s approaching the vehicle, [Flowers] starts shooting through the windshield of the truck and the officer retreats back to his vehicle. More shots are fired and the officer is waiting for other officers to get there,” said Roach.
Flowers reportedly ran off through a nearby pasture. Soon after, tracking dogs from the Georgia Department of Corrections and a Georgia State Patrol helicopter were called in to assist the search.
"All those assets are there actively looking, but we had bad thunderstorms come through the area, so the helicopter has to go away, the dogs get hampered by the extra rain and so what would normally you would hope you would find them in a short period of time took about 24 hours," Roach said.
After a tip led them in the right direction, Flowers was apprehended and taken into custody within four or five miles of the crash at around noon Monday, approximately 23 hours after he originally fled from police.
Once in custody, EMS came and checked out Flowers, who was bleeding from apparent leg wounds thought to be a result of the crash. Flowers was taken to North Georgia Medical Center Lumpkin to receive stitches, before being transported to Lumpkin County Detention Center.
Flowers had warrants in Habersham and Hall Counties, but no previous incidents in Lumpkin County before Sunday.
As of this time, Gerardo Jonathan Flowers is being charged with two felonies: Aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer engaged in official duty and Fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer.
Roach reported that no deputies were harmed in the pursuit and resulting arrest. Jarrard thanked all that helped in the search.
“I also want to thank all the men and women, all the state agencies that have assisted us,” said Jarrard. “He is in custody so we’ll take care of him and hopefully we can get him in the right direction.”