MACON, Ga. — An inmate at the Bibb County Jail who is accused of stabbing and killing one deputy, and injuring another was originally held on non-violent charges.
In a Tuesday morning press conference, Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said Albert Booze was arrested in November 2020.
According to jail records, he was charged with criminal damage to property, giving a false name, and trespassing.
Now, he's accused of stabbing and killing a jail deputy with the deputy's own knife.
During the news conference, GBI Special Agent in Charge Todd Crosby said Booze was moved from one part of the jail to another for “disciplinary issues.”
Crosby did not specify what those issues were.
Around 2:26 a.m. Tuesday, several deputies moved Booze again. This time, from a cell block to an observation area for suicide watch. Booze said he wanted to hurt himself, according to Crosby.
Davis says deputies handcuffed Booze before moving him to the observation area. That's when a fight broke out between Booze and the deputies.
Davis says Booze took a knife from deputy Christopher Knight, which he used to stab him. Crosby said it was a folding pocket knife owned by Knight himself.
“Deputies do have access to knifes and that sort of things when needed,” Davis said. "Because we have situations where someone may try to commit suicide and would have to cut somebody down. So we're looking at the circumstances as to how he may have had a knife."
Knight later died at the hospital. He celebrated his 30th birthday on Sunday.
Another deputy, 32-year-old Jerome Michael Williams, was not stabbed but suffered a hand injury. He was treated and released at a Macon hospital Tuesday morning.
Right now, there is no information on any additional charges against Booze. Davis says Booze will likely be moved to another facility once the GBI has completed a preliminary investigation.
