On a summer afternoon in Clayton County, Georgia, the life of a veteran law enforcement officer, 55-year-old Richard Joseph 'Rick' Daly, was tragically cut short. On July 20, 2011, Deputy Daly was assisting the fugitive squad in apprehending a wanted suspect. The chain of events that would lead to his untimely death began when an undercover investigator identified 17-year-old Jonathan Bun, a teenager sought on an armed robbery charge, as a passenger in a black Honda Civic.
Deputy Daly,
in his marked patrol car, was called upon to execute a traffic stop on the vehicle near the intersection of East Fayetteville and Walker roads. As he approached the passenger side of the car, Bun emerged and fired multiple shots from a. 40 caliber handgun. Daly was struck in locations not protected by his body armor and was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The shooting sparked a massive manhunt involving numerous law enforcement agencies.
Following the shooting, Bun fled into a nearby wooded area, eluding capture for several hours. An intensive search, aided by a K-9 unit, eventually led to his apprehension. The weapon used in the shooting was later identified as a Glock that had been stolen from a retired Georgia Department of Corrections officer's apartment in 2009.
Jonathan Bun was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault on a peace officer, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. During his trial, Bun testified that he did not know the individual approaching the car was a police officer. However, prosecutors presented a videotaped interview in which he admitted to seeing the police car's blue lights. On May 4, 2012, a jury found Bun guilty of murder after deliberating for only two hours. Subsequently, on August 9, 2012, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
