CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A teenager killed at a DeKalb County gas station last week has been identified as the same man suspected of shooting a police officer in Clayton County.
Charles Payne was shot last Wednesday night at the Chevron gas station in the 7000 block of Covington Highway. He died at the scene.
Clayton County police have confirmed that Payne was the same man they were searching for in a March shooting that left one of their officers injured.
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They said Payne stole $500 from the pocket of a man at a gas station and tried to run off, but encountered an officer while trying to make his escape. Police said that’s when Payne shot both the robbery victim and Officer Ryan Richey.
Investigators in Clayton County said Payne was a known gang member.
Payne was not the first man that police accused during the shooting investigation.
Hours after the crime, police identified Arterio Crumbley as the suspect wanted for shooting Officer Richey and the robbery victim.
Crumbley turned himself in later that night, and police later dropped all charges against him in April after they determined he was not invovlved.
“My cousin called me and said bro, your picture is on the Clayton County police website. I’m like bro, you’re joking, and I hang up on him,” Crumbley told Channel 2′s Tom Regan.
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Crumbley told police he was nowhere near place where the officer was shot. At the time of the shooting, he was at his Fayetteville home.
He told Regan that he is looking for an apology and is planning to sue the county for his wrongful arrest.
“A big lawsuit, however much it’s worth. The lawyers will be able to tell me how much it’s worth,” he said.
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Both shooting victims have since recovered. Officer Richey is back on the job.
Police in DeKalb have released surveillance photos of three men they say are people of interest in Payne’s death.
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