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Francis M. Ortega
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The Francis M. Ortega Memorial Fund has been established at Wachovia Bank.
The day after the double shooting, authorities were trying to determine how an apparently routine traffic stop on Rockbridge Road turned deadly.
Ortega, 25, who arrived as the backup officer about 5 p.m. Thursday, was shot in the head, allegedly by the driver who had been stopped, police said. DeKalb County police Chief Louis Graham identified the gunman as Cedric O'Neal Gordon, 31, of Wisconsin.
Gordon fled into the post office and was found dead of a gunshot wound when police entered the building. Police fired into the building, but Graham said investigators are awaiting a medical examiner's report to determine whether Gordon killed himself or was killed by police.
There were customers and employees in the building during the shootout, Graham said. No one else was injured, police said.
The chief did not provide details about whether Gordon had been in Georgia for a time or was passing through, whether he owned the vehicle he was driving or whether the gun he allegedly used in the shooting was legal.
Officials in Wisconsin said Gordon had a criminal record there for violent offenses.
In 1991, Gordon was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by two years of probation for convictions for armed robbery and battery in Racine County, said John Dipko, spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Dipko said Gordon had since violated his probation on another charge and officials were searching for Gordon at the time of Thursday's shooting.
Ortega had worked part time with the Pine Lake department since March 16. He also was a police officer at Georgia Regional Hospital in Decatur, where he had worked full time since May 2003, according to Wayne Melton, training director at the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council, the state agency that certifies officers.
On Friday morning, a basket was placed outside the Police Department for neighbors to donate money to his family. The Georgia Sheriffs' Association donated $2,500 to Ortega's wife, Laura Ortega. He had a son, 6, and a daughter, 18 months, said Pine Lake Mayor Greg Zarus.
Please pray for the family as we buried another brother today.
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The Francis M. Ortega Memorial Fund has been established at Wachovia Bank.
The day after the double shooting, authorities were trying to determine how an apparently routine traffic stop on Rockbridge Road turned deadly.
Ortega, 25, who arrived as the backup officer about 5 p.m. Thursday, was shot in the head, allegedly by the driver who had been stopped, police said. DeKalb County police Chief Louis Graham identified the gunman as Cedric O'Neal Gordon, 31, of Wisconsin.
Gordon fled into the post office and was found dead of a gunshot wound when police entered the building. Police fired into the building, but Graham said investigators are awaiting a medical examiner's report to determine whether Gordon killed himself or was killed by police.
There were customers and employees in the building during the shootout, Graham said. No one else was injured, police said.
The chief did not provide details about whether Gordon had been in Georgia for a time or was passing through, whether he owned the vehicle he was driving or whether the gun he allegedly used in the shooting was legal.
Officials in Wisconsin said Gordon had a criminal record there for violent offenses.
In 1991, Gordon was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by two years of probation for convictions for armed robbery and battery in Racine County, said John Dipko, spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Dipko said Gordon had since violated his probation on another charge and officials were searching for Gordon at the time of Thursday's shooting.
Ortega had worked part time with the Pine Lake department since March 16. He also was a police officer at Georgia Regional Hospital in Decatur, where he had worked full time since May 2003, according to Wayne Melton, training director at the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council, the state agency that certifies officers.
On Friday morning, a basket was placed outside the Police Department for neighbors to donate money to his family. The Georgia Sheriffs' Association donated $2,500 to Ortega's wife, Laura Ortega. He had a son, 6, and a daughter, 18 months, said Pine Lake Mayor Greg Zarus.
Please pray for the family as we buried another brother today.
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