GBI Investigates Lavonia Minister Death

A northeast Georgia pastor died Wednesday after being shot by agents from a multi-county drug task force, officials said.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said a passenger in Jonathan Paul Ayers’ car was under investigation, but the 28-year-old pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Lavonia was not a target in the probe.

The shooting occurred after Ayers dropped the woman off at a store in downtown Toccoa Wednesday afternoon.

Bankhead said agents approached Ayers for questioning but the pastor tried to avoid them, putting his car in reverse before he struck one of the agents.

An agent shot at the car and Ayers suffered a gunshot wound to the torso. The cause of his death was pending the results of an autopsy.

“They didn’t know who he was,” Bankhead said. “That’s why they wanted to question him. There were witnesses around.”

Bankhead said Ayers died about an hour after he had surgery. He said the agent who was hit by Ayers’ car was taken to the hospital and was treated for minor injuries.

Bankhead would not reveal the woman’s identity, saying she is being questioned by authorities. The woman was charged with cocaine possession and distribution.