Convicted felon charged with murder of Gwinnett County father found dead in car
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - Gwinnett County police have charged a 63-year-old convicted felon with the murder of a man found shot to death in a crashed car in January.
Officials say shortly after 4:30 a.m. on January 27, officers were called to a car crash in the front yard of a home on Rockbridge Road.
At the scene, officers found 46-year-old Stone Mountain resident Don Wardlaw dead in the driver's seat of the car with a gunshot wound.
Wardlaw, the father of a 19-year-old and a 16-year-old, was described by his family as a jokester who just wanted to make people laugh.
More than a month into the investigation, officials say they identified a suspect in the deadly shooting as 63-year-old Michael Charles Jackson of Lithonia.
Detectives served an arrest warrant at Jackson's home, placing him under arrest.
Jackson is now being held at the Gwinnett County Detention Center without bond. He's charged with malice murder, murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and discharging a firearm within 50 yards of a roadway.
Police have not released information about what led up to the shooting.
Wardlaw's family is raising money for counseling, educational expenses, and other expenses for his children