Morgan County deputies arrested a Statham man in the area of Bethany Road and the Madison bypass on Christmas Day, following a series of attacks on passing motorists, according to reports obtained from the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office.
Billy Dewone Pearson, 21, now faces charges of five counts of simple assault and three counts of aggravated assault.
Sgt. Patrick Carey said he saw a white truck that appeared to be stuck in a ditch on the southbound side of the bypass and went to investigate.
As he was exiting his vehicle, dispatch advised that they had just received a call indicating that the subject driving the white truck may have been involved in an attempting carjacking.
When the man from the truck, later identified as Pearson, saw Carey’s vehicle, he got out and started walking toward the deputy.
Carey instructed Pearson to stand in front of his vehicle, and Carey’s K-9 began to bark.
According to Carey, Pearson looked at the deputy’s patrol unit and said, “I’m not going to touch you; you have a dog.”
Carey then became concerned that Pearson may have been planning to assault him before he saw the dog.
According to the report, Pearson became agitated and walked back toward his truck, possibly to flee or retrieve a weapon.
Carey decided to detain Pearson for safety reasons, citing his erratic behavior.
Additional deputies and Madison police officers began arriving, and Sgt. Travis Stubbs of the MPD said the occupants of a vehicle farther down the bypass reported that Pearson had struck the window of their car with his fist as they attempted to go around his vehicle parked in the roadway. They also said Pearson deliberately backed his truck into their car when they tried to get away from him.
Their vehicle, a Toyota Highlander, suffered disabling damage and a flat tire as a result.
Carey questioned Pearson about the encounter, and Pearson initially tried to deny involvement in the incident but later told Carey he had been “betrayed by his family” and “wanted other people to feel his pain."
At that point, Carey learned that the occupants of another vehicle said Pearson had punched the window of their car as well.
Carey was then advised of his charges and taken to the Morgan County jail.