On February 28, 2024, Haralson County deputies were dispatched to the area of Steadman and Jacksonville Road in reference to a Ford Crown Victoria doing donuts on the Crossroads Baptist Church parking lot. Deputies were advised that 911 was receiving more than one call about what was going on.
The first responding deputy observed a vehicle matching the description of the 911 callers on Jacksonville Road. Deputy Jon Henderson turned around to stop the vehicle when it pulled into a residence on Jacksonville Road. Deputy Henderson got out of his unit and observed that there was significant damage to the driver’s side of the vehicle and the driver’s door.
During Deputy Hendersons initial investigation, he spoke to three people who were in the car. The driver, Elijah Goolsby, did admit that they were doing donuts in the church parking lot and as they were leaving, a truck rammed them in the intersection of Steadman Road and Crossroads Church Road. The other two males gave similar statements to Deputy Henderson.
While Deputy Henderson was speaking to the subjects, he was advised that the driver of the truck was requesting a deputy to file an accident report. Deputy Henderson relocated to Crossroads Church Road to speak to the driver of the Dodge Ram, Cody Owens. Owens stated that he heard the blue Crown Vic doing donuts in the church parking lot and he did not like what they were doing so he got in his pick-up truck and went to the church. Owens stated that the Crown Vic was trying to leave so he rammed the vehicle in the intersection to try and hold them there for Law Enforcement. Owens admitted to Deputy Henderson that he knew he shouldn’t have done it and he was in the wrong.
“It would naturally bother any citizen that someone was disrespecting a church as well as a community by doing donuts and damaging church property,” states Sgt. Heather Mecillas. “The proper response would be to call 911 and give them the tag number and a car description. But to take the law into your own hands and commit a forceful act is not only inappropriate, it is a felony. Vigilante justice is not justice.”
The Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) has a code section that deals with use of force, that code section is 16-3-21. The code section states that a person is justified in using force against another when they reasonably believe the force is necessary to defend themselves or a third person from the imminent use of unlawful force or to prevent death or injury during the commission of a forcible felony. In this incident, the driver of the truck rammed the driver’s side of a car in an intersection, causing significant damage and crumpling in the driver’s side door for neither of those reasons, it was simply to hold them for Law Enforcement, which is a crime.
The driver of the Dodge truck, Cody Michael Owens, a 29-year-old W/M out of Tallapoosa, GA was arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault. The driver of the Crown Victoria, Elijah Cain Goolsby, a 17-year-old W/M out of Bremen, GA was arrested and charged with Criminal Trespass and Reckless Driving. The Haralson County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigative Division has taken this case to review due to the seriousness of the charge.
“There were several bad decisions made that evening,” states Sheriff Stacy Williams. “None of us want to see a church yard damaged by teenagers who are not making good life choices. But the Use of Force code section is one that each of us in the State of Georgia have to follow. I do not believe that Mr. Owens intended to do harm, but unfortunately his actions have a very serious consequence. I am thankful that no one in the car was seriously injured or killed during this incident. I hope this is a learning moment for all of us. Please respect private and church property, it is not there for you to destroy. Also, don’t let your emotions get the best of you in an upsetting situation, take a deep breath and make a better choice.”
