Local & State Headlines

Bond set in motel shooting

• Police have stepped up patrols around area motels to help thwart a growing number of car thefts and break-ins, authorities say.

J.D. Sumner

ALBANY — While a man investigators say may have been tampering with cars at an Albany motel Tuesday remains hospitalized in fair condition, the man who police say shot him was released on a $10,000 bond Wednesday morning, court officials say.

John Underwood, 20, of Tallahassee, Fla., was granted the bond during his arraignment Wednesday morning, jail officials said. He had been housed at the Dougherty County Jail since his arrest on aggravated assault charges early Tuesday morning.

He’s charged with shooting 19-year-old Charlie Henderson, who he believed was canvassing the parking lot of the Comfort Inn motel tampering with vehicles, according to police reports.

Henderson is listed in fair condition after undergoing surgery Tuesday at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, police officials said. No charges against him have been filed and the investigation is continuing.

According to police reports filed with the Albany Police Department, Underwood flagged down an officer in the parking lot of the motel on the 1400 block of Dawson Road just after midnight Tuesday morning, saying he saw someone “tampering” with vehicles in the lot.

A separate witness would later tell police that she too saw a man wearing dark clothing get out of his vehicle and go car to car in the parking lot, checking door handles, reports show.

A little more than hour later, police in the area heard three shots fired and found Henderson parked nearby in a Mitsubishi Mirage, bleeding from the arm and chest, the reports state.

Police reports show that bullet holes were found in the drivers’ side door of the vehicle, as well as the car’s bumper.

According to the report, Henderson reportedly matched the description of the man Underwood had described to police earlier, including white gloves Underwood had said the man he saw was wearing.

Underwood, who works for a security firm, told police that he was the one who fired the shots and surrendered to police, according to the report.

Police have stepped up patrols around area motels after a recent spike in the number of car thefts and break-ins reported by motel customers, APD Spokesperson Phyllis Banks said.

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