GAINESVILLE — A week ago, Hall County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) deputies went to a home on Melinda Drive in Winder to serve an arrest warrant on a murder suspect. What ensued was a SWAT standoff that ended with the murder suspect dead and four Hall County deputies injured.
Initially, reports indicated one deputy had been grazed by a bullet fired by suspect Jason Foreman. Later in the weekend, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said two deputies had suffered minor injuries in the standoff. Now, the Hall County Sheriff's Office reports four deputies sustained injuries in the Friday incident. In an email, HCSO Deputy Nicole Bailes said one deputy required medical treatment for injuries, while the other three suffered minor wounds from shotgun pellets.
Bailes said one of the deputies returned fire after the 45-year-old Foreman shot at them. Foreman was killed. That deputy is on administrative leave.
At this point the names of the deputies involved in the standoff have not been made public. The investigation has been turned over to the GBI's Athens Office, and Bailes said the HCSO will defer to state investigators before making further comment in the case. A spokeswoman for the GBI said once the investigation is complete, information will be turned over to the Barrow County District Attorney. She said there is no timetable for completion of the investigation.
The Hall County deputies had gone to the home in Barrow County on October 16 searching specifically for Foreman in connection with a murder that had occurred on Cagle Road north of Gainesville on October 15. Foreman was suspected of stabbing Jessie Weber, 32, of Lula that afternoon; Weber died shortly after the attack.
