Man Charged in Three Counties Indicted in Franklin Co.

A Demorest man who led Franklin and Stephens County authorities on a high-speed chase in February through two counties has been indicted by the Franklin County Grand Jury.

Alton Lee Davidson faces multiple charges in three counties, but in Franklin County he has been indicted on eight different counts, including fleeing and attempting to elude, aggravated assault on a peace officer, hit and run, and interference with government property.

Those charges stem from a February 29th incident, which began in Stephens County.

According to Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley, it started when a deputy on routine patrol on Rock Creek Road noticed a vehicle approaching that had just one headlight.

Shirley said the deputy turned around on the vehicle and they both pulled into the Rock Creek Baptist Church parking lot.

However, Shirley said Davidon’s vehicle then immediately came out of the parking lot in a reckless manner toward the deputy.

Shirley said at that point, the chase began through Stephens County and eventually towards Avalon and Martin, where Franklin County authorities arrived in the area to assist in the chase.

The chase ended when the car lost control and authorities were able to put it into a ditch.

Davidson tried to run on foot, but was caught and arrested.

Besides the charges in Franklin County, Davidson was charged in Stephens County with Felony Fleeing, DUI, Reckless Driving, Driving with a Suspended License, Affixing a Tag to Conceal the Identity of a Vehicle, Expired Registration, and Operating a Vehicle without Headlights.

At the time of his arrest, Davidson had an outstanding warrant out of Habersham County for aggravated assault on two women.

Davidson was recently returned to Habersham County to face the aggravated assault charges there.

(MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia contributed to this report)