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Police involved as two men dare death
MR pistol
The pistol and bullets from the Henderson shooting. - photo by Photo by Mike Riddle
LUDOWICI – Two Long County men are lucky to be alive after actions that drew attention of the law.
Wednesday at about 12:10 p.m., Ludowici Police were called to investigate a shooting on Hill Street. Officer Aaron McElveen responded and found Rodney Henderson, 47, lying in his bed conscious and talking, but bleeding from a hole in the center of his forehead.
Henderson’s wife told McElveen her husband had shot himself in the head.
LPD Investigator Sal Genualdi arrived and took possession of a .22 caliber pistol that had six rounds in it, one of them fired. He also administered first aid to Henderson until Long County EMS arrived.
EMS contacted LifeStar helicopter ambulance in Savannah, and they landed in a field at Long County High School to airlift Henderson to Memorial Medical University Center.
According to Genualdi, a surgeon at the hospital said it was safer to leave the bullet in Henderson’s head, than to risk removing it.
Genualdi also said Henderson was reported to be in stable condition, but was under a 72-hour observation.
Other emergency agencies responding to the call were the Long County Sheriff’s Department and the Ludowici/Long County Volunteer Fire Department.
“The circumstances of Mr. Henderson apparently shooting himself are regrettable, but he is very lucky to still be alive,” McElveen said.

Motorcycle chase

Another Long County man, Paul Kennon Warren, also recently had a harrowing run-in with the law.
According to Sgt. J.D. Campbell, on March 25 he was on Mitchum Road, when he clocked a yellow Suzuki 600 going 80 mph toward downtown Ludowici. Campbell turned on his lights and siren and chased the motorcycle, which was allegedly driven by Warren, who is reportedly Fort Stewart soldier.
Campbell said when the rider saw him, he sped up.  According to Campbell, the motorcycle accelerated up to 150 mph, despite the officer’s attempt to have him stop and even though it was raining.
The officer said the biker sped through Ludowici, turning right on Highway 84 toward Jesup. Campbell said he cut off his chase, fearing the biker might injure himself or someone else. But the officer notified the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department about the cyclist coming at them.
At this point, Long County Sheriff’s Deputy Shane Middleton was on Highway 84 in front of the bike. According to Campbell, Middleton began to slow traffic down as Deputy Julius Bargeron began the chase anew.
Campbell said that despite the rider’s attempts to evade the deputies, Middleton and Bargeron were able to pin the speeder in and, finally, arrest him.
Middleton then took Warren to the LPD, where he was charged with reckless driving, fleeing and attempting to allude, one count of speeding (going 80 in a 45 mph speed zone), another count of speeding (150 in a 45 mph zone), driving without a license and driving with no insurance.
“This man was lucky he didn’t cause a wreck, killing someone else or killing himself. There’s no excuse for this kind of driving” Campbell said.
The soldier was then turned over to the Fort Stewart Military Police.
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