The deputy who died Sunday night in a shootout with a suspect in Hall County has been identified as 28-year-old Nicolas Blane Dixon. Dixon had been with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office for three years, according to Sheriff Gerald Couch.
Authorities identify the alleged shooter as 17-year-old Hector Garcia-Solis of 43 Highland Avenue in Gainesville. He was one of several suspects Deputy Dixon and other patrol officers were chasing in the area of Jesse Jewell Parkway and Highland Avenue around 11 o’clock Sunday night when the shooting occurred.
Garcia–Solis was taken into custody after he was shot and wounded during the exchange of gunfire that killed Deputy Dixon Sunday night. Garcia-Solis was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office says his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Hours of searching turn up leads, suspects
Several hours after the initial incident in the area of Highland Avenue, a second suspect was tracked by K9 to a residence in the same area and was taken into custody after being found hiding under that house. He has since been identified as 17-year-old Brayan Omar Cruz.
The final two suspects, London Clements, 17, and Eric Edgardo Velazquez, 17, were both arrested Monday afternoon. Velazquez was arrested at a residence off of U.S. 129/Cleveland Highway in north Hall County. Clements was apprehended at his residence on Cresthill Drive in Flowery Branch.
The sheriff’s office says all of the suspects are from Hall County. Garcia-Solis is charged with felony murder. Cruz, Clements, and Velazquez are charged with felony murder as parties to the crime.
Sheriff Gerald Couch spoke with reporters about the shooting during a press conference Monday in Gainesville. When asked if the incident was gang-related the Sheriff responded, “They were a gang of thieves and certainly complicit in murdering one of our deputies.”
Couch said a second deputy involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation which is standard procedure. The sheriff’s office has offered counseling services to all of the officers who were involved in the incident.
A husband, a father, and a son
Dixon began his career with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office as a jailer. He graduated from the police academy in June 2018 and had just celebrated his first year as a patrol officer. “He was a husband, a father, and a son, and a beloved member of our sheriff’s office,” Couch said. He described Dixon as “the type of individual who always ran towards the danger and wanted to make things better.”
Deputy Dixon leaves behind a wife and two young sons, ages 9 years and 4 months. “He was such a young man with such a young family. We will make sure we take care of his family as he’s taken care of all of ours,” the Sheriff said.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office is working to establish an official memorial fund in support of the Deputy Dixon’s family. Details will be released as the fund is finalized.
Dixon is the second officer in Georgia killed by gunfire in the line of duty this year. This is the 42nd officer-involved shooting that the GBI has been asked to investigate in 2019.
