Police chief who mentored murdered Fulton sheriff’s deputy remembers him as a ‘blessing’

ATLANTA, Ga. - Fulton County Sheriff’s Deputy James Thomas knew what he wanted to do with his life as a little boy growing up in Mississippi.

"Every time we would come through the neighborhood, he was just excited to see the officers he would flag us down," said Chief Terence Crump, with the Edwards, Miss. police department. "He was really a blessing, because most kids his age, law enforcement wasn’t on the radar for them."

On Thursday, police found Thomas, 24, shot to death in his own car on Bolton Road in Atlanta.

Investigators have not announced any arrests.

Chief Crump, who patrolled Thomas’ community when he was an officer in Jackson, Miss., said he was eager to start chasing crime before he could even drive.

"We would get a call, and I don’t know how he did it but he was on his bike and he would beat us to a call," Crump said. "He would have all of the important information that we need."

Chief Crump said he took Thomas under his wing and helped him get his start in law enforcement.

The last time they spoke was less than 24 hours before he was last seen alive.

"I asked him [last] Tuesday if he had any plans of returning one day, and he said only if I could come back as a chief of police somewhere."

Crump was confident that was in his future.

"I had no doubt in my mind that he was still with us, and maybe a couple years down the road I think he would’ve," he told FOX 5’s Rob DiRienzo.

The Fulton County sheriff's office said Thomas had worked a shift last Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, investigators found his body in his personal car.

Detectives are now trying to figure out what happened between the time he left the station, and his murder.

The Fulton County Sheriff's Office has announced a $30,000 reward for anyone who has information that could lead to the arrest of Thomas’ killer.