Murder suspect turns himself in; one still at large

Published 6:55 pm Monday, June 18, 2018

WEST POINT — A suspect wanted in connection with a shooting last week has turned himself in.

Eric Bridges, 25, of West Point, turned himself in at the West Point Police Department at approximately 5:20 p.m. Monday afternoon, Captain Fawley said.

“He and his family came in,” the captain said. “They wanted to get it over with.”

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Bridges was arrested for murder and transported to the Troup County Jail. He is being held without bond.

“The West Point Police Department would like to express their appreciation to the family members of Eric Bridges, for their assistance in this matter,” The department stated in a press release.

Bridges is the second suspect in custody for an alleged role in a shooting Wednesday evening on Dogwood Circle that resulted in the death of 50-year-old Valley resident Reggie Pearson.

Octavious Bridges, 24, also of West Point, was arrested and charged Friday morning, June 15, at 11 a.m. at his sister’s home in Fairburn, Ga.

Bridges has also been officially charged with being a fugitive of justice and is also being held for possible involvement with a home invasion/robbery that occurred in Lanett back in December.

The last suspect, Trent Murphy, 24, of West Point, remains at large.

Pearson was discovered on a porch at a residence in the 1000 block of Dogwood Circle in West Point. According to a West Point Police Department press release, he had been shot in the chest.

Captain Fawley said investigators believe Pearson was meeting with Murphy and Bridges for a narcotics transaction.

An anonymous tip led West Point officers and members of the U.S. Marshal’s Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force-Atlanta to the residence where Bridges was hiding. He was apprehended without incident. Also helping out in the case were the Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Bureau of Investigations, Troup County Sheriff’s Office, Troup County Coroner’s Office and Lanett Police Department.

“We still don’t have anything on Murphy,” Fawley said. “We believe he is still in the area.”

The West Point Police Department is requesting anyone who may have any information regarding this incident or who may have been in the area during this time and noticed any suspicious person or vehicle to call the West Point Police at 706-645-3525 or 706-645-3548 or your local “Crime Stoppers” at 706-812 1000.