Deputies back at work, charges pending against alleged shooter

The 20-year-old who allegedly shot a reserve deputy with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office last month remains in a Columbus hospital, without being charged, according to Sheriff Jay Jones.

Jones said no formal charges have been filed against Christopher Dalton yet, but they are coming.
“His physical condition is as such, he can’t leave the hospital,” Jones said. “When it improves and he can be transported, he will be taken into custody.”

On Aug. 27, a reserve deputy and a deputy stopped a vehicle about 2:15 a.m. near Lee Road 240 and Lee Road 2001, according to a report at the time. As deputies were in the process of searching the car’s occupants — a teenage girl, two teenage boys and Dalton — Jones said Dalton allegedly shot the reserve deputy; the deputy returned fire at Dalton.
The two deputies involved in the altercation with Dalton have since returned to work, Jones said. The deputy who shot and killed a suspect in a separate incident on Aug. 9 is also back on the job, he said.

On Aug. 9, a deputy stopped John Derrick Johnson, 29, of Opelika, on Lee Road 276 near Beulah. The deputy got caught in Johnson’s driver-side door during the traffic stop and was dragged down the road, according to a report at the time. He shot and killed Johnson.

Jones said all three deputies — two full-time and one reserve — were placed on leave after the incidents. All were given the opportunity to undergo counseling before returning to work and all participated, he said.

“We don’t want to put them out there if they’re not ready,” he said.

Jones is withholding the names of the deputies until the Alabama Bureau of Investigations has completed its investigations. ABI spokesperson Doris Teague said both cases are still ongoing.

ABI is also investigating Sunday’s shooting between Noah White, 24, and a deputy with the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Sid Lockhart said ABI charged White with attempted murder Wednesday. Both the deputy and White are being treated at George H. Lanier Memorial Hospital in Valley.

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