The worst is over for Whitfield and Gordon County residents who’ve spent the last three days on edge as authorities searched the area for Texas fugitive Dalton Lee Potter.

“Since this started happening I’ve been sleeping on the sofa downstairs. The family has been upstairs in their bedrooms,” a Gordon County man told Channel 3.

It took 72 hours, about 20 different law enforcement agencies and more than 100 officers on the ground, but Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood says the community can rest easy knowing Potter is now in custody. 

Law enforcement officials say they found him in a swampy area near Bandy Lake Road in Resaca, Georgia on Wednesday night.

“Our suspect was taken into custody last night,” Chitwood said during a press conference Thursday morning.

Potter is the man accused of shooting a Whitfield County deputy during a traffic stop Monday night and another resident on Wednesday.

A Gordon County man who spoke to Channel 3 recalled the scary exchange he had with Potter who attempted to break into his home just moments after he’d shot his neighbor.

“You could tell there was something off about him,” the man said of Potter.

The resident, who did not want to be identified, says he and his two sons were on their porch when Potter approached their cabin and tried to enter through a side door. 

"It was scarier watching him walk toward the house,“ the resident explained. “I hurried up I took the boys back inside the house, called 911…there is one door that separates our cabin from the addition. He was on one side, I was on the other and we were basically face-to-face.”

Hiding his two and five-year-old children in a closet and with a bat in hand, he told Potter to leave and he complied.

“I told my older boy just hold the younger one’s hand. Keep him quiet. Keep him safe, and he did,” he said.

While his neighbor is recovering, the man told Channel 3 he’s grateful no harm came to his family and authorities were able to track down Potter.

“He shot this neighbor without any warning, so yeah, of course there’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t do that to us,” the resident said.

Authorities say Potter was injured after his exchange with the resident he shot, so he was taken to a local hospital for treatment and released. 

He is currently in custody at the Whitfield County Jail along with a second suspect, 47 year-old Jonathan Hosmer.

Potter will answer to charges of Aggravated Assault and Home Invasion in Whitfield County before he is extradited to Texas. 

Sheriff Chitwood says Potter could have his first appearance in court as early as Friday. 

It’s still unclear where Potter and Hosmer were traveling or what their plans were for the explosives the GBI found inside the truck they were driving. 

Stay with WRCB for updates to this developing story.