Rick Dunn Law

Routine traffic stops often become dangerous for law enforcement

That became all too clear Thursday evening.

"Upon approaching the car, I noticed the two males in the back seat were reaching in between themselves very nervously," he said. "Like they were stuffing something in between the seats."

Jones secured the suspects, who lied about their names and ages, and then searched the car. Jones says they were indeed hiding something -- a black semi-automatic handgun.

"That's when I immediately become suspicious," he said.

Turns out, his intuition was right.

Justin Eric Dunn, one of the men in the car, is one of three people charged in the shooting of Marquette Woods about a month ago, and it took a simple traffic stop to find him.

Crime Suppression Team Supervisor Captain Scott Gay says officers should always follow their training and intuition while conducting traffic stops.

"I think their training and experience probably saved their lives," Gay said. "Not taking it for granted that it was a 'standard' traffic stop."

Jones says even after booking Dunn into the Richmond County jail for giving false information and having a weapon, the suspect continued to lie about his name and even pretended to be a juvenile at one point.

"I recognized him immediately but just couldn't put a name with a face," Jones said.

Dunn's face has been on the wanted list in Richmond County for about a month. Investigators say Dunn was involved with the murder of Marquette Woods during a shooting on Aragon Drive in June.

"It feels good," Jones said. "We've been looking for him for a while, and there weren't any really any recent leads from what I understand. I'm glad we got him, especially in the back seat of a car during a traffic stop."

Six officers have been killed in Georgia and South Carolina in 2011. Many examples hit a little too close to home. A massive manhunt was underway for several days in Athens as officers searched for Jamie Hood.

They say he shot two officers during a traffic stop, and one of the officers died. Just this week in Atlanta, Deputy Rick Daly was shot and killed during a traffic stop in the middle of the day.

More than 100 officers in the U.S. have been killed in the line of duty already this year, many of them stemming from routine traffic stops that turned violent.

"You just try to be on your P's and Q's and just be ready for anything," Jones said.

That means ready to come across not only weapons, but drugs and stolen property. They never know exactly what they're walking up on.

'Jackass' star Ryan Dunn Dies in Drunk Driving Accident: Will the ...

There has already been an announcement that the bar where Dunn was seen drinking will not be held liable for contributing to this accident because there is no evidence that the bar employees or management were aware that Dunn was drunk. He didn't look drunk, he didn't weave or slur his words or anything like that ... so the police have released the bar folk from liability.

Why? If the bar is not aware that someone is under the influence, then they don't have a duty to step into the situation and stop serving the customer. Or to call a cab. Or chat with pals. No duty.

Will His Pals Get Sued? No.