Authorities have arrested five more people in connection with the shooting death of a 28-year-old Hall County deputy killed in the line of duty earlier this month.
Gainesville residents Jiovanny Castillo, 17, Antony Macias, 18, Adrian Gonzalez Verduzco, 18, Rodolfo Rodriguez Puentes, 17, and Jorge Rodriguez, 19, are charged with tampering with evidence and hindering the apprehension of a criminal, the GBI announced Wednesday afternoon.
Media Advisory: GBI Makes Additional Arrests Related to Those Responsible for Hall County Deputy Shooting https://t.co/qU1EpH1TFq pic.twitter.com/rbwPNgOknP
— GA Bureau of Investigation (@GBI_GA) July 17, 2019
Macias, Verduzco, Puentes and Rodriguez are also charged with theft by receiving stolen property after authorities linked the men to a host of other crimes in Hall County, the GBI said.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Four suspects have already been charged with murder for their alleged role in Deputy Nicolas Blane Dixon’s July 7 shooting.
Shortly after 11 p.m., Dixon attempted to stop a stolen vehicle occupied by four males, the GBI said. After a vehicle chase, the four suspects identified as Brayan Omar Cruz, Hector Garcia-Solis, Eric Edgardo Velazquez and London Clements fled on foot with Dixon in pursuit.
Authorities said Dixon and another deputy made contact with 17-year-old Hector Solis in the yard of a home along Highland Avenue in Gainesville when shots rang out.
Dixon, a husband and father of two young boys, was struck once and later died of his wounds.
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Solis was shot several times and taken to Northeast Georgia medical Center in critical condition.
Solis was released from jail days before the deadly encounter after being arrested June 27 on charges of DUI, driving on a suspended license, felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer, violating the open container law and striking a fixed object, authorities said.
After the deputy’s death, it was revealed the suspects Dixon chased were also suspected in the burglary of a Gainesville pawn shop one day earlier and that one of those guns may have been used to kill him.
MORE: Investigators believe stolen gun used in fatal shooting of Hall deputy
The thieves used a rope connected to a pick-up truck to force open the doors of the Double Deuce pawn shop.
Since the latest arrests, authorities said 25 of the 27 firearms stolen from the pawn shop have been recovered. A “large cache” of ammunition and two crossbows have also been located, police said.
An investigation into the men also revealed they were tied to additional thefts in the area, the GBI said. Since that investigation began, one more firearm and seven stolen vehicles have been recovered, according to police. In all, six burglaries, two stolen vehicle and three entering auto cases were solved with the latest round of arrests, according to the GBI.
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Solis and Velazquez are expected to face additional charges related to the burglaries and car thefts.
Dixon was the fourth officer killed in the line of duty in Georgia this year, records show.
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