Butts Co. Sheriff offers $5,000 reward in home invasion murder

BUTTS COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Investigators hope offering a reward will help lead them to whoever shot and killed a man in a home invasion robbery Wednesday.

The Butts County Sheriff's Office announced a $5,000 reward Friday for information leading to an arrest in the death of 40-year-old Derrick Denson.

According to investigators, Denson called law enforcement at around 8:50 Wednesday night to report he had been shot.  They believe two or three masked men walked through the unlocked front door of a home on Shoemaker street and held Denson and another man at gunpoint.

"At some point during an altercation a round was fired and struck the victim in the head," explained Butts County Sheriff's Office Investigator Lawson Bittick.

Paramedics transported Denson to a hospital in Macon where he died Thursday evening.

The other man was also injured in the fray.  Deputies said he has been released from the hospital and is cooperating with the investigation.

Family members did not want to talk about the case, but investigators said they plan to work around the clock to find those responsible.

"We're dedicated," Bittick said.  "We're not going to sleep until we do find them."

Anyone with information in the case should call the Butts County Sheriff's Office at 770-775-8232.