Burglary, arson suspect under arrest after officer-inolved shooting in Habersham & White counties

On Saturday, a burglary, a fire, a car chase, several unsuccessful PIT maneuvers and an officer-involved, non-lethal shooting were all instigated by the actions of one man, crossed county lines, and now involves nearly half a dozen law enforcement and government agencies.

According to a press release by Habersham County Public Information Officer Rob Moore, the chain of events began Saturday morning at approximately 11 a.m. when several Habersham County Emergency Services units responded to a reported vehicle fire on Sutton Road in Demorest. 

Upon arrival, responders found a Chevrolet

Silverado truck on fire at a detached shop and brought the blaze under control. The truck was destroyed in the blaze, according to Moore’s report. 

After determining the incident involved an “incendiary fire,” Habersham County Sheriff’s Office deputies secured the scene and moved all personnel off the property.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, an incendiary fire is a fire that is
“deliberately set with the intent to cause a fire to occur in an area where the fire should not be intentionally ignited.”

An investigator from Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King’s Fire Investigations Unit is investigating the fire, and the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office took control of the burglary crime scene, according to Habersham County Sheriff’s Investigator George Cason.

According to witness statements, the suspect in the vehicle blaze and burglary fled the property towards GA 115 in a Penske box truck at a “high rate of speed.”  The back of the truck was open and various household items, including furniture, were falling out of the truck. 

White County Sheriff’s Deputies reported observing a Penske box truck traveling westbound on GA 115 East shortly after 11 a.m. Officials said the driver was driving erratically and the back of the truck was open. 

According to reports, White County deputies attempted to stop the truck, but the driver, later identified as Alan Paul Heinze, 53, of Cleveland, allegedly fled from authorities, and during the following chase, Heinze disabled a patrol vehicle by ramming it with the box truck.

Deputies attempted multiple Precision Immobilization Technique, or PIT, maneuvers to stop the truck but were unsuccessful, incident reports state, adding that, following the unsuccessful PIT maneuvers, Heinze attempted to run over a deputy with the truck. 

Following Heinze’s alleged attempt to strike the deputy with the truck, officers fired at him and struck him in the arm, but he continued to flee in the truck toward Cleveland. Cleveland Police Department officers joined the chase. Officials were able to bring Heinze to a stop in the parking lot of Jack P. Nix Elementary School on West Kytle Street in Cleveland. 

Heinze was taken into custody and transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, where he was treated and released. Heinze was then taken to the White County Detention Center where he was booked for two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. 

According to Cason, the Fire Commissioner’s office will be charging Heinze with 2nd degree arson, and the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office will be charging him with 2nd degree burglary and unsecured load.