Police identify mall shooter; driver charged in deadly crash
Apr. 1—ALBANY — Albany police have identified the suspect who took shots at patrons of the Albany Mall last week and announced the arrest of the driver in a single-car vehicle collision that left one person dead.
On March 25, officers responded to 2601 Dawson Road after receiving reports of shots being fired at the mall. The victims were walking out of the entrance, and a male suspect, identified by police as Corey Deriso, 27, brushed up against them, leading to a physical altercation. The suspect went to his vehicle and started shooting at the people with whom he'd had the altercation. Witnesses said the suspect then fled the scene and got into a white van with a blue sticker on the back.
The Albany Police Department has issued three aggravated assault warrants for Deriso's arrest. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at (229) 436-TIPS or the Albany Police Department at (229) 431-2100.
Meanwhile, APD traffic unit officers who responded to a fatal motor collision last week at the intersection of South Slappey Boulevard and West Oglethorpe Boulevard have charged the driver, Clinton Thomas, with homicide by vehicle in the first degree, serious injury by vehicle, reckless driving, and failure to maintain lane.
The single-vehicle accident involved a 2016 Dodge Challenger heading west on West Oglethorpe Boulevard that crashed into the traffic signal on the west side of South Slappey Boulevard. Of the four occupants of the vehicle involved in the accident, one succumbed to their injuries, while the others escaped as a fire engulfed the vehicle.
Police estimated that Thomas was driving at a speed of 140 mph before the collision.
