Toccoa shooting suspect taken into custody
Last night, at approximately 8:30 p.m., local and state law enforcement officials arrested Tristen Levi Grafton, 26, of Toccoa, in connection with a shooting incident on Christine Circle earlier in the day, ending a five-hour manhunt that closed down streets in two locations on opposite sides of the county, put schools and daycares on lockdown, and had community members flocking to social media to wonder, worry and speculate.
Shortly after Grafton’s arrest, Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley told WNEG News that investigators and Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agents received a tip that Grafton was at a Persimmon Street residence.
Shirley stated, “Upon their arrival, investigators and GBI Agents, as well as Georgia State Patrol and Toccoa Police, surrounded the residence. Law enforcement were successful in ordering Grafton to surrender. He was arrested without incident and is in the Stephens County Jail where he will make a first appearance hearing Wednesday.”
Shirley said that a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun was recovered after consent was given to search the residence.
The arrest, and the preceding countywide search for Grafton, was the result of an altercation between neighbors in the Christine Circle community that started on Sunday, and resumed Monday
WNEG News spoke with Shirley several times throughout the afternoon and evening yesterday, and learned that Grafton, who lives on Powerline Drive off of Christine Circle, had been walking along Christine Circle late Sunday and had allegedly shot a dog belonging to a resident in the 300 block of Christine Circle with a small-caliber rifle.
On Monday afternoon, Grafton returned to the home where he had shot the dog, and an argument ensued with a resident there. Grafton then allegedly shot at the resident, but missed, and the man retreated inside the residence and called 9-1-1. When Stephens County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived on scene, Grafton, who had run behind the Christine Circle home, fired more shots. Shirley said a patrol vehicle was struck by bullets that may have ricocheted off of nearby trees.
Grafton then fled into the woods.
Shirley said that, due to an unrelated meeting occurring at the Georgia State Patrol Post 7 Toccoa station just a few miles from the scene, 20 to 30 Georgia State Patrol Troopers were on hand and responded to the scene immediately to help with the investigation and search for Grafton. GSP Swat team members, officers from the Toccoa Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, numerous DNR Rangers and members of the Appalachian Drug Task Force assisted in the search, along with GSP helicopter assistance.
Early in the search, officials received a tip that Grafton had been given a ride, possibly by a relative, to a residence on Oak Valley Road, and more than two dozen law enforcement vehicles from various agencies shifted their search efforts to that area, while additional Deputies, Troopers, DNR Rangers and GBI agents continued to search in the Christine Circle area. Traffic was closed off between the 1700 and 2500 blocks of Oak Valley Road as law enforcement searched the home where Grafton was believed to be hiding, but he was not found at the residence, and search efforts continued at Christine Circle into the evening, with canine units brought in to help in the search.
Just an hour before Grafton’s arrest, Shirley told WNEG News that Grafton was an avid outdoorsman, and might be hard to apprehend, but that Stephens County Deputies and GBI investigators would continue to search through the night for him.
During the incident, school buses were rerouted and returned to schools, and schools were put on locked down status, with after school outdoor activities moved indoors. Daycare centers near the Christine Circle were also put on lockdown status during the hunt for Grafton.
No other arrests have been made related to the event, Shirley stated.
At the time of his arrest, Grafton was charged with three counts of assault on a peace officer, but would face additional charges this morning, including charges related to the shots fired at the Christine Circle resident.
No law enforcement officials or members of the public were hurt during the gunfire on Christine Circle, and the dog reportedly survived the gunshot wound received Sunday night.
Grafton was being sought by local law enforcement officials since September 8, when Grafton was being sought as a “person of interest” in a shooting incident on Davis Avenue in Toccoa.
Shirley stated, “the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office wishes to thank our public safety partners with the GBI, Georgia State Patrol Troopers from the Toccoa and Hartwell Posts, the Toccoa Police, and multiple DNR Rangers.”