James Thomas Death: Georgia sheriff’s office identifies deputy found shot dead in wrecked car

FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: The 24-year-old officer who was discovered shot to death on Thursday, December 30 has been identified by the Fulton County sheriff’s office. James Thomas, a Mississippi native who had worked for the sheriff’s office for less than a year, was assigned to the Grady Memorial Hospital’s detention unit facility. Officers were responding to the 911 call at about 4:30 am when they found Thomas in the driver’s seat of his wrecked gray Ford Fusion parked along Bolton road.

James Thomas, originally from Mississippi, was assigned to the detention unit at Grady Memorial Hospital and had been with the sheriff’s office for less than a year. He was recruited from the Milledgeville Police Department, according to Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat.

“He was an outstanding young man,” Labat said during a Thursday afternoon news conference outside the jail. “We personally recruited him from another police department down south, specifically because of the energy and his love for what he brought to our agency. Our hearts and prayers go out to him and his family.”

He was recruited by the Milledgeville Police Department, according to Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat. “He was an outstanding young man,” Labat said during an afternoon news conference outside the jail, on Thursday. “We personally recruited him from another police department down south, specifically because of the energy and his love for what he brought to our agency. Our hearts and prayers go out to him and his family,” The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.