Suspect in killing of Georgia police officer arrested in Florida

EASTMAN, Ga., Aug. 15 (UPI) -- The suspect in the slaying of a police officer in southern Georgia was arrested early Monday morning in Florida.

Royheem Delshawn Deeds, 24, of Helena, Ga., was arrested in Nassau County, north of Jacksonville, according to jail records. He is awaiting extradition to Georgia.

Tim Smith, 31, a police officer in the small town of Eastman, Ga., was responding to a 911 call about a suspicious person around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Smith noticed a person of interest at an intersection. He got out of his patrol car and was shot. He returned fire as the suspect ran from the area.

Smith, who was not wearing a protective vest, later died from his injuries at a nearby hospital.

Officer Tim Smith joined the Eastman Police Department in February 2011. He is survived by three children. Monday would have been his 31st birthday.

The GBI was offering a $10,000 reward for Deeds' arrest.

Eastman, the county seat of Dodge County, is 130 miles southeast of Atlanta. The town has about 5,500 residents, with a police force of 15 officers.