Police: Man who wore 'Team Jesus' shirt and shot cop car arrested
HENRY COUNTY, Ga. - Wearing a T-shirt that reads "Team Jesus" and firing shots at a Henry County patrol car outside a liquor store, police said a memorably dressed gunman is finally in custody. But investigators are still trying to figure out the motive behind the violence.
Police said from the beginning they were interested to know his beef with the law. What would motivate the man to shoot out the window of a patrol car in a liquor store parking lot? In arresting Paul Mikell, police said they are closer to getting an answer.
Surveillance footage released by police allegedly shows Mikell shooting out the window of a Henry County Police car. It was his T-shirt that helped make the story both memorable and viral. The words “Team Jesus” were printed on the front.
“Evidently, he has some sort of issue with law enforcement due to an unrelated encounter. We just assume that he wanted to take some revenge out on our officer's patrol car at the time,” said Capt. Joey Smith, Henry County Police.
Police said with the numerous tips from the public that named Mikell as the suspect. Police arrested him Wednesday night and have charged him with a felony.
Police said in their search of Mikell's residence they did not find the T-shirt or the weapon, but they are pretty sure it was a pellet gun.
“We have sufficient evidence to prove that he used some kind of CO2 gas propelled pistol. And we able to come up with some evidence to prosecute him with that,” said Capt. Smith.
Police said it happened March 14 at the Highway 138 Package Store in Henry County. Investigators said the officer was working a second job as security and his patrol car was parked out front, mostly as a deterrent to trouble.
Police said as Mikell pulled out of the parking lot, the video appears to show him firing a weapon into the patrol car window. And then he drives away.
The T-shirt, as well as a Confederate flag with flashing red lights on his SUV all, helped in their efforts to identify and arrest him. Police said they believe he was still angry over a past encounter with police in a different town and decided to take it out on this officer's patrol car.