Indictments returned in homicide and assault on officer

An Augusta man accused of killing a friend and firing several gunshots at an Richmond County Sheriff deputy was indicted today.

The Richmond County grand jury returned two indictments against Rex Stewart Jr., 37. In the first, he and Cindi Bowen, 44, are accused of aggravated assault in the Jan. 23 incident in which Deputy Nicholas Nunes was shot at after conducting a traffic stop. According to earlier reports in The Augusta Chronicle, Bowen was driving the vehicle and Stewart was the passenger.

Nunes, who was not wounded, said it was the passenger who shot at him.

In the second indictment, Stewart is charged with murder and weapon violations in the Jan. 12 fatal shooting of 41-year-old Sean Bussard.