Chatham County, GA – On Monday night, December 29, 2025, 39-year-old Robert Wayne Bookter escaped from police custody after spraying a chemical irritant at an officer during transport. On Tuesday, CCPD said that Bookter had been recaptured.
Earlier that evening, Bookter had been stopped by a Chatham County Police Department (CCPD) officer for operating a trailer without a tag or tail lights. Officers discovered that Bookter had multiple outstanding warrants from both the Liberty County and Chatham County Sheriff’s Offices, including charges of aggravated assault. He was taken into custody without incident.
Around 7:15 p.m., while being transported to the Chatham County Detention Center on Chatham Parkway near Police Memorial Drive, Bookter sprayed a chemical irritant inside the patrol vehicle. The officer, who was handcuffed behind his back, immediately experienced severe eye and respiratory irritation and was temporarily incapacitated. When the patrol car automatically unlocked its doors after being put in park, Bookter was able to exit the vehicle and flee the scene…