Newton Citizen

COVINGTON - Less than a month after a man was reportedly shot in the wrist following an argument on Puckett Street, Covington police have apprehended a suspect in the crime.

The suspect, Fredrick Darnell Smith, 29, of 45 Tempie Drive, was taken into custody last week after officers spotted him walking through the parking lot of a liquor store on Ga. Highway 36, said Lt. Wendell Wagstaff, spokesman for the Covington Police Department.

In the evening hours of Jan. 27, police responded to Newton Medical Center after receiving a report about the victim.

The victim told officers he was walking on Puckett Street near the area of Carr Circle when he was approached by another man. An argument then ensued between the two, followed by a physical altercation, which led to the shooting.

"They were fighting ... there was a little bit of hand-to-hand and (the suspect) tried to hit him with his fist and that's when the victim said he fought back and was able to knock him to the ground," Wagstaff said in a previous interview with the Citizen.

"That's when the victim heard (the suspect) working the slide action of the pistol and that's when he said he ran away. When he ran away, he heard two or three shots fired and he was hit in the right wrist."

The victim said he then had someone take him to the hospital to receive treatment for his injuries.

Smith has been charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He has since been released from the Newton County Detention Center on $10,000 bond.

Joel Griffin can be reached at joel.griffin@newtoncitizen.com.