Suspects in Elijah DeWitt shooting remain in jail while awaiting bond hearing for murder charges
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - An 18-year-old Jefferson High School student and football player's funeral is Wednesday. Loved ones will gather to lay Elijah DeWitt to rest one week after a bullet cut his life short and hours after his accused killers faced a judge in Gwinnett County.
Law enforcement arrested 18-year-old Kemare Bryan and 19-year-old Chandler Richardson in South Carolina. The two were transported and booked in Gwinnett County on Tuesday. Both are charged with malice and felony murder in the deadly shooting of Elijah DeWitt outside Sugarloaf Mills.
Both young men stood before a Gwinnett County judge on Wednesday were dressed in the street clothes they were wearing when they were arrested. A judge delayed the bond hearing for Bryan and Richardson, saying only a superior court judge can grant a bond on the felony charges. They'll stay in jail until their superior court appearance.
Funeral for Jefferson high school football star
Elijah DeWitt was shot and killed a week ago while out on a date with his girlfriend near Sugarloaf Mill Mall. His funeral will be held Wednesday evening at Jefferson High School. It's as the two teens charged for his murder were in court for the first time this earlier in the morning.
The judge ensured they understood the charges filed against them and verified if both men had an attorney. Bryan and Richardson said they have legal representation.
"You're going to be here for a while," the judge said Wednesday.
Investigators said Bryan and Richardson got into a fight with DeWitt before firing the fatal shots. Police went to the Dave & Busters in the Sugarloaf Mills parking lot and found DeWitt on the ground with a gunshot wound.
Police said investigators are still determining what led up to the shooting.
"I want him to be remembered as a fierce competitor with a very large heart," Elijah's mother Dawn DeWitt said.
DeWitt's father says he's forgiven the two men charged with murdering his son.
"Forgiveness is for the forgiver," Craig DeWitt said. "We don't want the hate in this household."
A funeral service will be held Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the arena at Jefferson High School at 575 Washington Street in Jefferson.
DeWitt was a star wide receiver at Jefferson High School. Those who know him said he had dreams of playing college football.