A 23-year-old wanted in connection with an attempted second-degree murder case in Nashville was taken into custody in Douglas County after a chase that tore through four metro Atlanta jurisdictions at speeds up to 100 mph. Rickora Walker was riding in the front passenger seat of a Chevrolet Malibu driven by 20-year-old Joshua Brownlee when officers ran the car down and ended the pursuit with a PIT maneuver on September 29.
A Chase That Crossed County Lines
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, DeKalb County police began pursuing the car around 7:24 p.m. after learning someone inside was wanted on outstanding warrants, with the chase entering Atlanta on I-20 West near Flat Shoals Road SE before continuing westbound through the city. But wsbtv.com reported the incident actually began around 6:37 p.m. that evening, a discrepancy the available reporting does not resolve. What both accounts agree on is the scope of the pursuit: the station reported the chase traveled through DeKalb and Henry counties, back into DeKalb County, through Atlanta and eventually into Douglas County.
Atlanta police officers assisted DeKalb County police near Thornton Road, according to APD, before performing the PIT maneuver on I-20 West that forced the fleeing Malibu into the median wall, where it stopped. The station's report notes that an officer identified as Fincher used his cruiser to strike the back of the Malibu to bring it to a halt just inside Douglas County. Speeds during the pursuit reached 100 mph at times, per the same account.
Two Separate Tennessee Warrants
Authorities said Walker was wanted by Metro Nashville police for failing to appear in court on an attempted second-degree murder charge. Per the station's reporting, Walker had been indicted on the charge and missed an August court date, resulting in a bench warrant. The evidence reviewed does not detail the underlying circumstances of the original attempted murder case beyond the missed court date and bench warrant.
Brownlee, meanwhile, was wanted on a theft-of-services warrant tied to an investigation out of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, the outlet reported. Police said Walker and Brownlee were accused of using other people's hotel rewards accounts to obtain free stays, leaving the hotel owed $935.77 for the stolen nights.
DeKalb County police took Walker and Brownlee into custody once the car came to a stop, and authorities said the pursuit resulted in no injuries to officers or bystanders. Officials have not said whether either suspect is now awaiting extradition back to Tennessee.
Georgia's Pursuit Numbers Draw Scrutiny
The chase adds to a pattern of high-speed pursuits across Georgia that has drawn increasing attention from safety advocates and lawmakers. From 2019 through 2023, the Georgia State Patrol engaged in more than 6,700 pursuits, according to CBS News Atlanta, with at least 63 people killed and nearly 1,900 injured over that span. Troopers used PIT maneuvers more than 2,000 times during that same four-year period, the outlet reported, resulting in 19 deaths statewide.
Those numbers carry weight locally. In April 2025, 19-year-old Cooper Schoenke was killed in Atlanta's Little Five Points neighborhood after a state patrol chase over a traffic violation ended in a fiery crash, CBS News Atlanta reported. The Atlanta City Council responded last year by calling for reforms that would restrict when officers may initiate or continue a pursuit and prohibit PIT maneuvers in densely populated areas, residential neighborhoods, traffic-congested corridors and pedestrian-heavy zones. Georgia's Department of Public Safety defines a pursuit as an active attempt by a sworn officer in an authorized emergency vehicle to apprehend fleeing suspects, and defines a PIT maneuver as the intentional use of a patrol vehicle to force a fleeing car off its course to stop it.
