U.S. Marshals arrest man in Georgia boy's murder after suspect escaped police in Edgewood
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May 5—The man accused of killing a 13-year-old boy in Georgia was arrested in Pennsylvania on Wednesday after fleeing last month when police tracked him to an apartment in Edgewood.
Gregory Thornton, 30, was named as a suspect after the March 28 fatal shooting of Buddy Brown in Augusta, Georgia. Thornton allegedly shot Brown because Brown would not open the apartment complex's gate for him. Brown was at the gate because he was waiting for a DoorDash delivery and Thornton did not live at the complex, Deputy U.S. Marshal Albert Maresca said.
The Richmond County Sheriff's Office said Thornton fled Georgia after the shooting with his girlfriend and traveled to Maryland.
On April 18, police tracked Thornton to an apartment in Edgewood but when the U.S. Marshals' Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force moved in on him, he fled in a black 2013 Chevrolet Camaro with white racing stripes and a temporary Maryland license plate. Thornton's home address could not be verified.
On May 3, the U.S. Marshals Middle District of Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force arrested Thornton on a state warrant.
"In support of the Attorney General's initiative against violent crime, the U.S. Marshals have authority to adopt arrest warrants for serious crimes of violence issued by state officials,' said Maresca. "In this case the fugitive task force and the southern district of Georgia sent investigators information of the whereabouts of the suspect that ultimately led to his apprehension in the middle district of Pennsylvania."
Thornton will face extradition proceedings, a formal process to determine if a person located in any country or state is surrendered to any other country or state to stand trial for any criminal offense, before he is sent back to Georgia, according to Maresca.
Thornton is charged with first degree murder, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in Richmond County, Georgia.
