April 18th, 2024 – 2:45 PM

– WRGA Staff Reports –

The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office reported that 44-year-old Jonathan Bates of Dallas, Georgia, was arrested Tuesday in Dawson County by a multi-agency task force serving a bench warrant.

Bates had been at large since 2022 after missing a court appearance for which he was indicted on murder charges.

On May 5, 2017, Bates allegedly pushed his wife, Cynthia, down the stairs during a dispute at their home in Paulding. Cynthia Bates later died at the hospital from injuries sustained in the fall. Jail reports indicated that the incident was witnessed by their two children.

Bates has been scheduled for trial on charges including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery-family violence, cruelty to children in the first degree, cruelty to children in the third degree, and battery-family violence.

As of Thursday, Bates is being held without bond at the Paulding County Detention Center.

Paulding County Sheriff Gary Gulledge publically thanked the task force comprised of the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office and the US Marshal Service for locating and apprehending Bates.