A routine traffic stop on I-85 South turned into a gunfight with Georgia State Patrol troopers, a wounded police dog, and a two-day manhunt that ended with a man asleep in a stolen moment of stillness inside an old pickup truck, a gun resting across his chest. Now that man, Ira Troy Williams, is headed to prison for 135 years.
Williams, 53, pleaded guilty to 16 charges connected to the December 2024 chase through Coweta County, according to Atlanta News First. A judge sentenced him to 135 years in prison followed by 35 years of probation, the station reported. Williams entered an Alford plea on three counts of attempted malice murder, meaning he maintained his innocence while acknowledging prosecutors had enough evidence likely to convict him, and admitted guilt outright to the remaining 13 charges, according to the Coweta County District Attorney's Office, as reported by the Times-Herald.
A Traffic Stop That Spiraled Into Gunfire
The chain of events began on the afternoon of Dec. 18, 2024, when a Georgia State Patrol trooper pulled Williams over for a traffic violation on I-85 South in Coweta County. The station's report describes how Williams stepped out of his car at the trooper's direction, then climbed back in and sped off. Troopers attempted to stop him with three separate PIT maneuvers, and after the third attempt failed, Williams opened fire on the trooper's vehicle, per the same account.
From there, the station notes, Williams drove south on US 29/GA 14 after exiting I-85, firing multiple shots at all three troopers involved in the pursuit. Near train tracks south of downtown Grantville, he fired at least four more shots at the officers. One trooper's K-9, Amor, was struck twice in the right legs during the gunfire. No troopers were injured.
K-9 Amor Back On Duty
Prosecutors said Amor is doing well and has continued to serve with the Georgia State Patrol, the article notes. A separate account from Fox 5 Atlanta referred to the wounded dog as Armor and reported the animal would remain off duty for several months to recover, a detail that differs from the later spelling and timeline used in reports on the sentencing.
Deputies searching the vehicle Williams had been driving found two handguns, ammunition and more than nine grams of cocaine inside, the station reported. The vehicle was registered to Williams' daughter. Investigators later confirmed that cartridge cases recovered from the car matched those found at the shooting scene near the Grantville train tracks.
Two-Day Manhunt Ends In Grantville
Williams evaded capture for two days after the shootout. Fox 5 Atlanta reported that troopers ultimately found him laying across the bench seat of an old pickup truck with a gun across his chest, caught in a moment that ended the search. The outlet's reporting on the manhunt placed the discovery in Grantville, where the earlier gunfire near the train tracks had also occurred.
The 16 charges Williams pleaded guilty to included three counts of criminal attempt to commit malice murder, three counts of aggravated assault upon a public safety officer, one count of aggravated harming of a public safety animal, one count of aggravated cruelty to animals, three counts of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and one count of possession of cocaine, according to the Times-Herald's account of the plea.
News of the sentencing circulated on social media following the hearing, with the Instagram account crimewatchatlanta
sharing a post recounting the case to its followers. The post echoed the broader details of the sentencing that had already been laid out in local news coverage of the case.
