Georgia Investigators Probe Winterville Police Shooting After Traffic Stop Sparks Chase, Crash in Hull, Leaving Two People With Minor Injuries Sunday

CLARKE COUNTY, GA — A routine traffic stop in Clarke County escalated into a police shooting and a high-speed chase Sunday morning after officers tried to arrest an Athens man wanted on outstanding warrants, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The confrontation began when an Athens-Clarke County Police Department officer stopped a black SUV in the 100 block of Oakmont Court around 10:30 a.m. A Winterville Police Department officer arrived shortly after to help with the arrest of 33-year-old Derrell Dukes of Athens.

The stop quickly unraveled when Dukes drove away with one passenger still in the vehicle. An officer fired a single shot toward the SUV as it sped off, setting off a pursuit that crossed county lines before ending in a crash in Madison County.

How the encounter unfolded on Oakmont Court

Authorities said passengers began getting out as officers gave commands at the scene. Peyton Ragland, 28, of Summerville stepped out of the rear seat almost immediately after officers ordered Dukes to exit the SUV.

Investigators said Dukes opened his door, shut it again and then accelerated away while another woman remained in the front passenger seat. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the shot fired by an officer did not injure anyone.

The agency has not identified which officer discharged the weapon. It has also not released the name of the woman who stayed inside the SUV during the pursuit.

Pursuit stretches into Madison County before crash on Spratlin Mill Road

After leaving the traffic stop, Dukes led officers on a pursuit into Madison County, where the SUV eventually crashed in the 3000 block of Spratlin Mill Road in Hull. The chase ended after the vehicle wrecked following the brief but intense encounter with law enforcement.

Officials said Dukes and the female passenger suffered minor injuries in the collision. Paramedics took both to a nearby hospital for treatment, and hospital staff treated and released them.

No one was hurt by the gunfire, and authorities have not described additional damage from the crash. The crash location placed the end of the chase well outside the original stop in Clarke County.

Outstanding warrants were separate from the Sunday chase

Clarke County Jail deputies booked Dukes and Ragland on their prior outstanding arrest warrants after the crash. State authorities said those warrants were unrelated to the Sunday pursuit and shooting itself.

The initial stop was made to arrest Dukes on several warrants, but officials have not publicly detailed the underlying charges tied to those warrants. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the case remains an independent inquiry focused on the shooting and crash that followed the attempted arrest.

The separation between the warrants and the later investigation matters because state authorities are treating the shooting as its own incident, apart from whatever led to Dukes being wanted in the first place.

GBI takes over an independent shooting investigation

At Winterville Police Department’s request, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is leading an independent probe into the shooting. The agency has begun gathering information about what happened before, during and after the SUV fled the scene.

GBI officials said anyone with relevant information should contact the Regional Investigative Office in Athens at 706-542-7901. Investigators have not announced a timeline for the next public update.

The investigation will likely determine how the officer’s gunfire and the vehicle pursuit fit together, including which agency employed the officer who fired the shot. For now, officials are confirming only the basic sequence of events and the injuries from the crash.

What investigators have and have not confirmed so far

Authorities have confirmed the time of the stop, the names of the men identified in the case and the location where the chase ended. They also said the gunfire injured no one and that the injuries from the crash were minor.

At the same time, several key details remain undisclosed. Investigators have not said which agency employed the officer who fired, and they have not named the woman who remained in the SUV during the pursuit.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said its findings will come from an independent review, rather than from the agencies directly involved in the stop. That leaves the public with a partial picture for now as the case moves through the state investigation.