$10,000 reward offered for officer shooting suspect

A suspect has been identified in the shooting death of an Eastman police officer Saturday.

Tim Smith, 30, was shot after answering a call about 9:30 p.m., according to a GBI release.

The GBI named Royheem Delshawn Deeds, 24, as a suspect. Citizens are advised not to approach Deeds and to call authorities if he is spotted.

Scott Whitley, special agent in charge of the Eastman GBI office, said Smith was answering a call about a man with a gun behaving suspiciously. Whitley said Smith exited his vehicle to speak with the man and shots were fired. Smith returned fire and the suspect fled.

Whitley said Smith was able to radio in that he had been shot.

Smith was taken to Dodge County Hospital, where he died.

The GBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Deeds. A wanted poster released by the GBI states that Deeds is also known as Roy Burns Jr. It states that he is 6 feet tall and weighs 160 pounds. The poster shows him in an orange jail jumpsuit.

Whitley declined to say how Deeds was identified as a suspect. He said Deeds is believed to reside in an area close to the border of Dodge and Telfair counties.

“We are being opened-minded that he could be anywhere,” Whitley said. “We are looking everywhere.”

He said multiple law enforcement agencies are involved in the search.

A small motorcade carrying Smith’s body came through Macon on Interstate 16 and Interstate 75 about noon Sunday. Smith’s body was being taken to the GBI crime lab in Atlanta for an autopsy.

The shooting happened on the east side of the rail line that runs through the middle of town, not far from the Chic-King restaurant.

Smith worked briefly as a part-time officer in Jacksonville, a small town in southern Telfair County.

“He was an exemplary officer,” Jacksonville Mayor John Dopson said. “When he was called, he responded. He deserved better than what he got.”

Dopson said Smith’s father, Lewis Smith, was Jacksonville’s police chief but now works for the city as a part-time officer. Lewis Smith also works as a Glenwood police officer.

Whitley said Tim Smith had worked at the Eastman Police Department for five years. Whitley said he is survived by three children.

Whitley said there was no indication that the shooting was connected to the rioting in Milwaukee on Saturday that was sparked by a police shooting earlier in the day.

Eastman, the county seat of Dodge County, is home to about 5,500 residents. It lies about 55 miles southeast of Macon.

Anyone with information is asked to call the GBI office at 478-374- 6988.

Return to Macon.com for more on this developing story.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported Officer Tim Smith's age.

This story was originally published August 14, 2016 at 1:25 PM with the headline "$10,000 reward offered for officer shooting suspect."