COVINGTON, Ga. - The Covington Police Department arrested and charged a Covington man for the Oct. 7 pedestrian-involved hit and run incident that killed Amy Barron, 39, of Social Circle and left Masika Robinson, 36, of Covington, with minor injuries.

Oliver Alonzo Shepherd, 55, who had an arrest warrant in Newton County for probation violation, was arrested Oct. 9 at a family member's house on Westview Drive in Covington. 

"The family members were aware something was going on," he said. "His demeanor was different, and they had been getting information from other people in the neighborhood that he may have been involved in this incident. They were not surprised when we came and picked him up."

It was believed that Shepherd may have been under the influence of alcohol the night of the incident, which "may have been a contributing factor on why he did not remain on the scene that night," Malcom said.

Initially, Shepherd denied any knowledge of the incident, stating "he loaned his van out to an unknown individual" the night of Oct. 7, according to the CPD Oct. 22 press release.  He admitted to operating the vehicle that struck Barron and Robinson during his second interview at the police department.

Shepherd was charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident. 

"The lead investigator on this case was Detective Jeff Bruno," Malcom said. "He, along with the entire Criminal Investigation Department staff and members of the Georgia State Patrol, did an outstanding job over a 16-day period to solve this case."

Shepherd had a history of arrests, dated back to 1992, according to the NCSO inmate information website. He was released from jail in March 2017 on probation; however, he violated his probation when he committed a burglary. 

The NCSO could not give an exact date on when the warrant was issued for Shepherd's arrest, according to Sgt. Cortney Morrison. The Georgia Crime Information Center does not always publish probation warrants so information is limited.

No other information was available regarding Shepherd's past criminal history.