Man fired shots in downtown Macon, then rammed stolen car, barricaded in store: Deputies

A man was arrested hours after he fired several shots in downtown Macon then burglarized and barricaded himself in a store Sunday night, according to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators believe the man was involved in several incidents. A criminal investigation started when deputies were dispatched to a 911 call regarding an armed person around 8:10 p.m. at Macon Inn at 1044 Riverside Drive. The subject, later identified as 39-year-old Frankie Lee Fletcher Jr. from Macon, fired shots in the air, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

Deputies were told the suspect fled toward Third Street and turned onto Mulberry Street downtown.

Around 10 minutes later, a 911 caller reported “shots fired into an unoccupied vehicle” near Mulberry and Second streets, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies patrolled the area to find the subject, described as wearing all blue. Then they were dispatched to Second Street.

Investigators were told the man shot at three unoccupied vehicles and another with a person inside. The occupant was not injured, deputies said.

Then a 911 call reported a carjacking around 9:10 p.m. near Fatty’s Pizza at 396 Second Street.

Witnesses told investigators the man “demanded the victim to get money out of the ATM” then fled in her blue Honda Civic, according to the sheriff’s office.

The criminal intelligence unit notified investigators the car was seen heading south on Florence Avenue and Mercer University Drive.

Armed burglary

Deputies were dispatched again when a commercial alarm went off around 10 p.m. at Academy Sports & Outdoors at 1689 Eisenhower Parkway, a news release from the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies arrived and noticed the building was broken into, with a man inside. He wore a blue sweatshirt, blue pants and blue shoes, according to the news release.

Fletcher had “rammed an automobile into the front door of Academy Sports to gain entry,” deputies said.

He “immediately barricaded himself inside of the store,” the news release said.

Investigators, hostage negotiators and a SWAT team showed up, then SWAT members removed the man and a gun.

Fletcher was taken to a local medical facility for injuries from the vehicle crash, but he refused treatment, according to the sheriff’s office.

He was then taken to the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center around 11:30 p.m., according to Deputy Alexis Mitchell-White. Fletcher faces seven counts of aggravated assault, four counts of possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, four counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, felony second degree burglary, theft by receiving stolen property, motor vehicle carjacking and armed robbery.

Fletcher was sentenced to prison in 2015 after a shooting that injured seven people, The Telegraph previously reported. He was also sentenced to prison on an armed robbery charge in 2002.

This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 12:03 PM.