Deputy faces DUI charge after leading troopers on 130 mph chase, Georgia cops say
A Georgia sheriff’s deputy is charged with driving under the influence after leading state troopers on a high-speed chase earlier this month.
Georgia State Patrol officers arrested Rockdale County deputy Tobias Holmes, 25, after a trooper clocked his Honda Accord going 119 mph on I-20 westbound in Fulton County on Dec. 5, according to an incident report obtained by McClatchy News.
Holmes faces several other charges including speeding, reckless driving and attempting to elude police.
Troopers said the deputy was traveling with at least three passengers, two of whom were identified as fellow Rockdale County deputies. All were suspected to have been drinking, and an open container of Corona beer was spotted in the car after the chase, authorities said.
McClatchy News reached out to the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office and is awaiting a response.
A state trooper first spotted a car driving more than 110 mph in a 60 mph zone on the interstate, the report states. Authorities said the driver accelerated to 134 mph when state police tried to pull him over.
The driver slowed down as he approached an overpass, troopers said, though he was “still traveling ... in excess of 100 mph.” He had been rapidly switching lanes and nearly collided with another car before he was eventually stopped and arrested with the help of another trooper about 10:30 p.m..
In the incident report, one trooper wrote that he could “smell an overwhelming odor of an alcoholic beverage” on Holmes’ breath and saw that his eyes were “watery and bloodshot.” Holmes refused to perform a field sobriety test.
He was taken to the Atlanta City Jail while the two other deputies in the car — identified as 24-year-old Brandon Oglesby and 22-year-old Anthony Isaac — were picked up by a Rockdale County sergeant, according to the report. Both Holmes and Oglesby had their service weapons on them, which were subsequently confiscated.
The sergeant also took a personal weapon belonging to Isaac, state police said.
Two of the deputies have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, the sheriff’s office confirmed to McClatchy News.
“My Internal Affairs Unit has worked closely with the Georgia State Patrol as we gathered all of the facts surrounding this incident,” Rockdale County Sheriff Eric J. Levett said in a statement. “I am confident that all necessary steps for accountability and transparency will occur during this process. ... Anyone found to be in violation of RCSO policies, procedures, rules, regulations, and/or state law will be held accountable and disciplined accordingly.”
Rockdale County is about 25 miles east of Atlanta.
This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 10:25 AM with the headline "Deputy faces DUI charge after leading troopers on 130 mph chase, Georgia cops say."