UPDATE

James Ian Spires is in custody. He turned himself in to the Bleckley County Sheriff’s Office on February 8. He will be taken to the Pulaski County Detention Center, where his charges originated.

ORIGINAL RELEASE

Hawkinsville, Georgia (February 2, 2023) – The GBI is seeking the public’s assistance in an aggravated assault investigation that began on February 1, 2023.  The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office asked the GBI to assist after Pulaski County 911 received a phone call stating that James Cheek, age 68, of Hawkinsville had been shot multiple times.  The investigation revealed that James Ian Spires, age 24, of Cochran, GA, shot Cheek multiple times.  Cheek was later flown to the Navicent Medical Center in Macon, Georgia, where he is listed in critical condition. 

Spires is currently a fugitive.  Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact the GBI regional investigative office in Eastman at 478-374-6988. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS(8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

The investigation is active and ongoing.  Once the GBI investigation is complete, the case file will be given to the Oconee Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

Contact

ASAC Kyle McNeal

[email protected]