Athens-Clarke County police made an arrest overnight in last week's homicide in rural White County.
A 27-year-old White County man is charged with murder in the Aug. 10 death of Wayne Alexander, 66, according to White County Chief Deputy Bob Ingram.
"At 2:30 this morning, murder suspect Fredrick Sauder, charged with the murder of Wayne Alexander on the 10th in White County, was arrested at the Travel Inn on West Broad Street in Athens-Clarke County by their SWAT team,” Ingram said.
Alexander’s body was discovered around 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10, at his home on Sam Craven Road in Cleveland.
Information released by Athens-Clarke County Police Chief R. Scott Freeman, Ph.D., said that department received information late Tuesday afternoon from Winder Police Department that helped lead to the capture.
Winder police reported that they received a notificiation through an automatic license plate reader (APLR) system indicating Sauder's vehicle was in the area of Atlanta Highway at 6 p.m., and was traveling east toward Athens.
Further information indicated Sauder was in possession of a rifle, Freeman reports.
ACCPD officers patrolling the area of the Travel Inn, 898 West Broad St., found Sauder’s vehicle in the parking lot, established a perimeter around the hotel and evacuated guests who were staying in nearby hotel rooms, Freeman reports.
According to Freeman's statement, "Sauder was uncooperative with negotiators who attempted to talk him out of his room so a distraction device and chemical munitions were used to gain compliance and Sauder was taken into custody without further incident."
Sauder has been turned over to the White County Sheriff’s Office.
Ingram said this is still an active investigation by White County and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and did not rule out other arrests being made in connection with the case.
