A man accused of killing a Richmond County sheriff’s investigator was indicted Tuesday on 16 charges, including malice murder, according to county court records.
Alvin Theodore Hester Jr., 24, was shot and wounded shortly after being accused of fatally shooting Investigator Cecil Ridley in November, AJC.com previously reported. The deputy was conducting a routine patrol with a narcotics unit in Augusta in an effort to curb gun violence in the area before the deadly incident.
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About 8:30 p.m. Nov. 19, Ridley was fatally injured at an Augusta Mart on the corner of 12th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. According to the GBI, another officer first tried to confront Hester inside the gas station and Hester turned to leave.
He’s accused of shooting Ridley as the deputy was walking through the front doors, the GBI said. The other officer returned fired as Hester continued into the parking lot, where he was confronted again. Both the officer from inside the store and an officer in the parking lot fired at Hester, striking him.
Ridley, who was unable to return fire, later died of his injuries.
Hester was taken to Augusta University Medical Center until three days later, when he was released and booked into the county’s jail.
The GBI later arrested 18-year-old Deonquez Reid on a count of felony tampering with evidence in connection with Ridley’s death. He was granted an $11,200 bond, according to county jail records.
MORE: 2nd suspect arrested in connection with deputy's shooting death in Augusta
On Tuesday, a grand jury indicted Hester on one count of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, three counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and five firearm-related charges. He was also indicted on counts of theft by receiving, obstruction, criminal use of an article with an altered identification mark, possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute.
He spent about seven months in prison for obstruction and cocaine possession with the intent to distribute in Richmond County, according to Georgia Department of Corrections records. He was released from the Sumter County Correctional Institute in June 2018.
Hester remains in the Richmond County Jail without bond.
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