The manhunt for Charles Timothy Battles, a fugitive accused of egregious crimes including attempted murder and arson, concluded successfully yesterday morning. Battles, age 46, was apprehended in a house near Scottsville, quiet in his surrender to the vigilance of the Gordon County Sheriff's Office (GCSO). The arrest came off the back of urgent pleas to the public for assistance in locating Battles, who had evaded law enforcement since being last seen early the previous Saturday, as reported by NewsChannel 9.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, the manhunt began shortly after deputies responded to a house fire in Calhoun, where it was confirmed that a woman and her child were inside at the time. They narrowly escaped the blaze, which subsequently razed the home to the ground, GCSO, alongside Gordon County Fire Rescue, managed the initial situation and conducted preliminary investigations. Evidence collected at the scene linked Battles, with no permanent address and a previous offender under probation for stalking, to the inferno.
In a Facebook post, which has since been updated to announce the capture, the GCSO had urged the public to remain vigilant and report any sightings of Battles directly to authorities. Sheriff Ralston acknowledged the contributions of both law enforcement agencies and the citizens who stepped forward with information leading to Battles' discovery.
Battles, now in custody, faces numerous charges including aggravated stalking, attempted murder, and arson. The charges leveled against him represent a stark escalation from his existing probation terms, stemming from prior convictions of stalking. "Sheriff Ralston expressed his gratitude to all agencies involved in the capture of Battles, including the private citizens who gave information of Battles' whereabouts," as NewsChannel 9 reports.
