A Georgia man is under arrest Wednesday morning following an overnight manhunt that started with an incident on Interstate 85.
Gregory Rogers Kirk, 28, of Lithonia was caught after 6:30am Wednesday near the Jack-in-the-Box restaurant at 1596 East Main Street. Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office dispatchers were alerted to a suspicious man in the area and officers say Kirk ran toward a wooded area when he arrived.
Blake Williams, a clerk at Circle K, knew right away something wasn't right when a man covered in mud walked into his store. "First he opened the door and peeked his head in and said do you have a pay phone. And I said no sir, I don't," Williams said. He says the man was covered in mud and his shirt was torn. Williams called 911 when the man left the store. Deputies arrested Gregory Kirk about hald an hour later at Jack in the Box.
SCSO Public Information Officer Tony Ivey says Kirk was a passenger in a car that was stopped on I-85 - near the 63 mile marker - Tuesday night for speeding an an improper lane change.
A Colleton County Sheriff's deputy - taking part in Operation: Rolling Thunder in Spartanburg County this week - was searching Kirk when he detected what he thought was a hangun in Kirk's waistband.
The officer says Kirk jerked away from him and fled on foot and ran up the exit ramp from the interstate to Highway 290. A deputy, who chased after the suspect, says Kirk appeared to reach for the handgun.
The deputy fired once at Kirk, but no one was hit by the gunfire. Ivey says Kirk did not shoot at the deputy. Earlier reports to News Channel 7 indicated the suspect had fired at police.
Authorities did find what they say was the suspect's weapon, but didn't find him in a search on the ground and in the air. The search was scaled back at 1:40am Wednesday.
The driver of the vehicle that was stopped was given a warning citation for the traffic offenses and was allowed to leave along with the other two passengers and the rental vehicle they were driving.
The vehicle was not impounded as previously reported.
Kirk is being held at the Spartanburg County Detention Center for unlawful carrying of a firearm. More charges are pending.
Gregory Rogers Kirk
Photo courtesy: Spartanburg County Detention Center
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