Peachtree – Law enforcement, emergency service providers and virtually the entire community joined together on July 9 to pay their respects to Transport Detention Officer Francisco Flattes, who was killed in the line of duty on June 30.
A nine-mile route from Townson-Rose Funeral Home in downtown Murphy to Tri-County Community College via Marble included a procession of several hundred emergency response vehicles.
Flattes’ memorial was held at Tri-County Community College. The media and local newspaper were not permitted inside the service, but the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office has a video of the service on its Facebook page.
A federal inmate shot and killed Flattes during a medical appointment, then led law enforcement officials on an hour-long chase that ended with his recapture in Macon County. Flattes, 56, was wounded by gunfire and taken to Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Detention Officer George Feinauer was also injured during the escape, but not by gunfire, and expected to recover. Kelvin Simmons, 49, of Concord, was charged with first-degree murder and may face additional federal charges, District Attorney Ashley Welch said.
Flattes’ remains were sent to Winston-Salem for an autopsy. He was escorted by a smaller entourage of emergency and law enforcement responders to the funeral home on the week of his death.
Fire departments flew U.S. flags in his honor from overpasses along the route from Winston-Salem. On the day of his memorial service, local fire departments provided traffic control at intersections along the route, with several departments flying U.S. flags from ladder trucks.
The public gathered along the route, with the workforce of Moog Components Group lining N.C. 141 in Peachtree to pay respects.
At the intersection of N.C. 141 and U.S. 64 Alternate in Peachtree, health-care providers lined up near where the homicide occurred, including some who were nearby when Flattes was killed. The long procession turned into the college campus for the memorial service, which was held inside the Enloe Building.