Man shot by deputies nearly struck car during earlier stop, Rockdale police say

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - UPDATE: The man has been identified as 19-year-old Tevin Bass.

Deputies first stopped Bass March 7 “for a violation of the Hands-Free Georgia Act in the area of Salem Road.” Bass fled to his family home, where he gave a false name during a traffic stop. A deputy gave chase after Bass fled, but Bass drove toward the deputy and forced the deputy off the road to avoid a head-on collision.

ORIGINAL STORY: A man was shot after a dramatic multi-county chase on Interstate 20 Thursday morning.

Traffic on westbound I-20, between Panola and Wesley Chapel roads, was backed up for hours as the Georgia Bureau of Investigations investigated the shooting by Rockdale County Sheriff’s deputies.

According to Lt. LeJohn Tate, with the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office, around 9:30 a.m. deputies were pursuing the driver of a vehicle who tried running over a deputy two days prior during a routine traffic stop. That incident prompted the aggravated assault charges for which the driver was wanted.

When deputies spotted the vehicle Thursday morning in Rockdale County, they say the suspect lead them on a chase into DeKalb County, near Wesley Chapel Road where the suspect then drove onto I-20 east.

Lt. LeJohn Tate said the suspect, who has yet to be identified, got a flat tire and jumped over the median into the westbound lanes where deputies shot him.

“When we left the scene, he was alive and breathing,” said Tate. “To my knowledge, there are not any life-threatening circumstances.”

Tate said the suspect hit two other vehicles during the pursuit. The drivers were not hurt. Neither were the deputies. As for what exactly led deputies to shoot the suspect, the GBI is investigating.

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