District Attorney Jack Browning has announced that the state of Georgia will seek the death penalty against Seth Brandon Spangler and Samantha Roof in connection with the death of Polk County Police Detective Kristen Hearne.
Spangler is being charged with Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Felony Obstruction and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon as well as Theft by Receiving; Roof is facing similar charges. Both had their first appearance on Monday afternoon in Polk County Superior Court before Judge Michael Murphy.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Friday September 29th the GBI was asked by the Polk County Police Department to investigate the shooting of two of their officers.
At approximately 10:56am Officer David Goodrich was dispatched to a suspicious vehicle on Santa Claus Road in Polk County which he identified as being stolen from Tennessee. Detective Kristen Hearne, 29, also arrived on the scene to assist Goodrich. While checking on the vehicle the two officers made contact with Seth Brandon Spangler, 31, and 22 year year old Samantha Roof, who walked up from a wood line. While the officers were speaking with the two, Spangler pulled a handgun and fired. Goodrich was shot in his bulletproof vest Hearne was fatally shot multiple times.
Spangler and Roof fled the scene and a search of the area involving local, state, and federal agencies immediately followed with Roof being caught a short time later. At approximately 2:48pm, Spangler appeared out of the woods and was placed under arrest. Both Spangler and Roof are being held in the Polk County Jail.
An autopsy has been performed at the GBI Crime Lab in Decatur. Preliminary information indicates that Hearne was shot at least four times and due to the location of the fatal wound it is unlikely that a body armor vest would have prevented her death.
(WRGA/www.wrgarome.com)
Funeral services for Detective Kristen Hearne will be Tuesday at 2:00pm at Victory Baptist Church in Rockmart, Georgia. Interment will follow in the Oak Grove Cemetery. The Floyd County Law Enforcement Honor Guard will be serving as Pallbearers. Members of the Polk County Police Department and any and all other law enforcement officials will serve as Honorary Pallbearers.
Detective Hearne started her career in law enforcement with the Floyd County Sheriffs Department in 2008 as a Deputy Sheriff. In July 2012 she began working for the Polk County Police Department as a Patrolman. In 2013 she was promoted to the rank of Detective and was assigned to the Criminal Investigation’s Division of the Polk County Police Department.
You can leave condolences by going to the Lester C. Litesey Funeral Home website.
The Polk County Police Department issued the following statement on its Facebook page:
“The Polk County Police Department and our community were struck with tragedy on Friday September 29, 2017 when one of our finest, Detective Kristen Hearne, was shot and killed while on a call for service on Santa Clause Mountain road in Cedartown. Kristen was a true professional who loved her job and it was reflected by her work ethic and compassion she showed every day. She will be missed. Please pray for our agency, the Hearne family and Officer David Goodrich who was also shot during this tragedy but is recovering. They both are heroes.”
