On the night of December 27, 2010, Georgia State Patrol Trooper Chadwick 'Chad' Thomas LeCroy, a 38-year-old male, was on patrol in Atlanta when he initiated a traffic stop for a vehicle with a broken headlight. The driver, later identified as Gregory Favors, refused to stop and instead led Trooper LeCroy on a brief chase. The pursuit ended when Favors crashed his vehicle at the intersection of St.
Paul Avenue and Hightower Road.
As Trooper LeCroy approached the wrecked car, Favors opened fire, shooting three times and striking the trooper once in the neck. Favors then callously stole LeCroy's patrol car and fled the scene, leaving the officer mortally wounded. Trooper LeCroy, a two-year veteran of the State Patrol and a married father of two sons, was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital but succumbed to his injuries en route. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Corporal.
A swift and intensive manhunt was launched, involving members of the Atlanta Police Department and the Cobb County Police Department. Gregory Favors was apprehended a short distance away from where he had abandoned the stolen patrol car. At the time of the incident, Favors was on probation and had an extensive criminal history.
Favors was charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in connection with the killing of Trooper LeCroy. He pleaded not guilty, and his case proceeded to trial in the Superior Court of Fulton County. On April 29, 2014, a jury found Gregory Favors guilty of first-degree murder. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
