LUDOWICI, Ga., Nov. 19 (UPI) — A U.S. Marshal who was part of a law enforcement team trying to capture a fugitive in Georgia was shot and killed Friday in a gun battle, authorities said.
Deputy Commander Patrick Carothers, 53, died about 9 a.m. while attempting to serve a warrant in Ludowici, Ga., located about 55 miles south of Savannah. He had been with the U.S. Marshals Service for 26 years, most recently as deputy commander of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force for more than a year.
Carothers was part of a team seeking to arrest Dontrell Montese Carter, 25, who was wanted on charges of attempted murder of police officers, domestic violence and unlawfully discharging a weapon during an incident in September in Sumter County, S.C.
Investigators said the task force team found Carter in a trailer home when Carothers was shot twice. He died at a local hospital. Carter was also hit multiple times and died, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
“Our deputies and law enforcement partners face dangers every day in the pursuit of justice nationwide,” U.S. Marshals Service Deputy Director David Harlow said. “The fugitive who killed Deputy Commander Carothers was extremely dangerous, wanted for trying to kill law enforcement officers and deliberately evading authorities. Pat is a hero and our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and five children.”
Deputy U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates lauded Carothers as an “inspiring leader and an exemplary public servant.”
“Deputy Commander Carothers was dedicated to his mission, devoted to his team and heroic to his core. For those of us lucky enough to see him in action, he set an extraordinary example of valor and decency in service to the American people,” Yates said. “Losing him today is a blow to our law enforcement family in Atlanta and across the country and it underscores the grave risks that law enforcement officers assume every day in order to keep us safe.”
