Shooting Suspect Captured by Police

mrandolphadvance@gmail.com

A shooting on Pine Street on Tuesday afternoon left one man injured and one man on the run from law enforcement. The Vidalia Police Department (VPD) was dispatched to 211 West Pine Street at 2:31 p.m. on Tuesday, September 20, in response to reports of a man with a gunshot wound.

Upon arrival, officers found Eric Turner, 59, suffering from a gunshot wound to the stomach. Turner was transported continued from page

by Toombs-Montgomery EMA to the AirEvac Lifeteam 91 helipad, where the team flew him to Memorial Health University Medical Center for further treatment. He remains in critical, but stable, condition at this time.

The suspected shooter, Kendall Lane Wilcox, 42, fled the scene in a silver 2019 Nissan Sentra, causing the VPD and Toombs County Sheriffs Office to launch a widespread search. An hour after the shooting, officers found the vehicle parked nearby at 106 Pine Street; yet, upon realization he had been found, Wilcox evaded police again, traveling to the area of Clydette Boulevard. Officers were able to detain Wilcox after he voluntarily stopped before crossing pursuit prevention devices that had been deployed by the Toombs County Sheriff’s Office at the intersection of Center Drive and Clydette Boulevard.

Wilcox was charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and remains in custody at the Toombs County Detention Center.

According to neighbors of the house on West Pine, Wilcox and Turner had been arguing prior to the shooting. The case is being investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and VPD. Anyone with information is asked to contact the VPD Investigative Services Division at (912) 537-4123, Crimestoppers at (912) 386-4480, or GBI Eastman Office at (478) 374-6988. Tips may also be submitted anonymously through the hotline, 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online through the GBI website, or on the See Something, Say Something smart phone app.