2 arrested in 22-year-old's murder in 'cold blood,' Spalding County sheriff say
Demoni Beck, left, and Jadaquis Noble, right (Spalding County Sheriff's Office)
SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. - Two young men were arrested for the murder of a 22-year-old man Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said was in "cold blood."
Demoni Beck, 17, and Jadaquis Noble, 20, are each charged with murder, and aggravated assault. Sheriff Dix said the men gunned down Jacqueris Holland as he drove along North Hill Street near the old People’s Choice Club. The sheriff said the shots were fired from a silver vehicle passing in the opposite direction. Holland was struck several times.
Sheriff Dix described how Holland then got out of the car, walked to the front of it, and fell to the ground, never to get back up. The other car sped off north. The sheriff said Holland died "alone" at the scene.
"Since the morning of his murder, my criminal investigators have worked non-stop on this case. Early last week we met with Assistant District Attorney Holly McDonald from District Attorney Marie Broder's office to discuss our findings to that point. After the meeting, we obtained arrest warrants for two suspects that have now been arrested and charged," the sheriff wrote in a statement Friday.
Arrests made in murder of Jacqueris Holland
Beck was already being held in the Spalding County Jail on unrelated charges. He was informed of the new charges on Friday afternoon.
Noble was arrested at his Henry County home with the help of the U.S. Marshal’s Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Henry County Sheriff's Office. He was booked into the Spalding County Jail.
"We will continue to fight for, and support Jacqueris' family as we move forward in the criminal justice process. I spoke to his mother this morning to tell her of the arrests," the sheriff said. "The part that these young people just don't realize is that now three families are going to suffer because of gang violence. One family lost a son due to murder, and two more families will lose sons to jail. It's just unreal that the thought of killing someone or being in a gang, appeals to young people so much that they are willing to lose their life or their freedom in the name of a terroristic criminal street gang. They don't understand that you always reap what you sow."
Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix says residents are ‘sick of gang violence’
Sheriff Dix said he believed Holland's murder was gang related. In a social media post earlier this week expressed his continued outrage at gang violence, writing in part:
"People I have talked to since Jacqueris death, who live in and support the neighborhoods affected by such senseless acts of violence, are angry, frustrated, sick of gang violence, and sick of glorification of gang members who are in reality nothing more than cowards that work by night, and terrorists living among the decent people that they prey upon. These gang members should realize that people will eventually reach their limit. The houses they are shooting at cannot shoot back, but people who live in them that are fed up will. After they do, nobody wants to hear about how you were getting your life together. Riding around, shooting up houses, shooting people, and terrifying good folks, does not sound like getting your life together to me or anyone else.
"Parents, if you have young men and young ladies who glorify the gang lifestyle and emulate what they see represented to them by those people, you need to step up, be a parent, and stop them now if you love them. If you don’t, chances are that you’ll end up as another parent with a child either in prison or in the ground. If you don’t believe me there are parents in this community that will testify to that fact to you. If it can happen to a guy like Jacqueris, it can happen to them.
"In the end, the message is that Jacqueris Holland’s death is not just a loss to his family and friends, but it’s a loss to the future of our community."
Jacqueris Holland (Spalding County Sheriff's Office)
Who was Jacqueris Holland?
The sheriff said that Holland was well-loved by everyone with whom his investigators spoke. He said not a single person had a negative thing to say about him.
"The common comments I have heard about him were that he was funny, had a great personality, was outgoing, the ladies loved him, and he always had a smile on his face," the sheriff said. "None of them could believe that this had happened to him and that he was gone."
Sheriff Dix pointed out that in news reports there are often the cliché that the victim was "getting their life together," "going to college," "had goals," and "was a friend to people," "was loved by everybody that knew him." The sheriff bluntly wrote that Holland "was not that guy."
"Jacqueris was not working on it, Jacqueris Holland was it. He had his life together, he was going to college, he had made goals, he was working toward those goals, he was a friend to many people, and was loved by everyone that knew him," the sheriff wrote.
The sheriff reiterated that Holland had "no criminal record" and "no gang affiliations himself." He said Holland was a cosmetology student at Southern Crescent Technical College making good grades. He said he was well-liked by other students and staff. He was saving his money to open his own barber shop and had a side job cutting hair to help pay for it.
"He was going to school, living his life, working hard to achieve his goals, and by all indications was just a great young man who was loved by so many people," the sheriff stated.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office at 770-467-4282, ext. 31433.