Crime & Safety

Police ID Man Stabbed at Gas Station

The name of Wayne Stokes, a 49-year-old homeless man in the Lithia Springs area, was previously withheld because a next-of-kin couldn't be found.

Police say Kenneth Wayne Stokes, 49, was the man who died after being stabbed at a Lithia Springs QuikTrip on Friday.

Stokes' name was previously withheld because a next-of-kin couldn't be found, said Stan Copeland, chief deputy of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. He was a homeless man in the Lithia Springs area, he added.

Leon Alfred, 24, allegedly stabbed Stokes, who died that night at the hospital. Alfred  by a Douglas County deputy following the fight.

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When the deputy arrived two minutes after the 911 call was received, Alfred was asked to drop the knife numerous times, and while refusing, challenged the officer with the knife, witnesses told police.

It remains unclear why the two got into a fight, as the witnesses could only describe the scene after the fight started.

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The deputy has been put on administrative leave until he is cleared by a psychologist or psychiatrist, Copeland said. 

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is continuing its investigation, which, when finished, will be handed over to the sheriff’s office and the district attorney, Copeland said.


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