Suspect in yesterday’s manhunt at Tom Arrendale Interchange in Custody

Yesterday’s manhunt for what law enforcement officials termed an ‘armed and dangerous’ suspect came to an end at approximately 6 p.m. last night with the arrest of Rahim Abdullah, 50.

Adbullah was located and taken into custody in Habersham County near the Tom Arrendale Interchange – the intersection of .. near where the focus of the hours-long search for Adbullah was focused.

Abdullah has been booked in at the Habersham County Detention Center on charges from Georgia State Patrol Toccoa. Those charges include: driving under the influence, improper stopping, improper turn, speeding, wrong side of road, reckless driving, failure to obey stop sign, and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer.

According to official reports, yesterday afternoon, a Georgia State Patrol Trooper attempted to perform a traffic stop on a 2016 Kia Optima traveling on Georgia State Route 365. The driver, later identified as Abdullah, refused to pull over, and a pursuit ensued, with periods of extreme high speed and during which Adbullah traveled into oncoming traffic on GA-365. 

As Abdullah attempted to exit GA-365 onto GA-17 at the Arrendale Interchange, he lost control of his vehicle and crashed. He then escaped on foot, triggering a multiple-agency manhunt with the support of K-9 and helicopter units. It was also revealed during the course of the media coverage of the search, that Abdullah is also wanted on charges out of Athens-Clarke County on charges stemming from a false imprisonment/battery incident on October 29. 

According to a press release WNEG News received from the Georgia State Patrol, On November 2nd, Abdullah allegedly pointed a pistol at a victim in the Bethel Homes housing community in Athens. He fled from law enforcement in the Kia Optima and was not apprehended. The press release went on to say that the victim in the false imprisonment/battery incident was found dead over the weekend. A law enforcement communication alert warned that Adbullah should be considered “armed and dangerous.”

It was not specifically stated in any official reports whether yesterday’s attempted traffic stop was in relation to the search for Abdullah in relation to the Athens warrants.

Published news articles from local Athens media show that Abdullah was arrested in April of 2022 for trafficking illegal drugs and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, among other charges. According to arrest reports, then-48-year-old Rahim Taqwa Asadil Abdullah attempted to flee law enforcement officials, and when caught and taken into custody, heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, cash and a gun with its serial number filed off was discovered in the vehicle. Records also show a July 2021 Clarke County arrest of Abdullah on charges of Obstructing/Hindering a person making an emergency telephone call (misdemeanor) and battery – family violence, 1st offense (misdemeanor).  

Multiple local, state and national media outlets, in September of 2017, reported on the guilty plea of Rahim Aadil Taqwa Abdullah in the Laurens County, South Carolina on charges of conveying a bomb threat and stalking. According to news reports, Adbullah, in 2015, called Meg’s House, a shelter for abused women and children where his former girlfriend was staying, and made comments regarding “ a cooler filled with nails and sprockets that was rigged to explode if opened.”

Court records report a 10-year sentence of confinement following the guilty plea. WNEG News has not been able to locate any court records regarding Adbulah’s release from custody regarding the sentence.