Spalding County 22-year-old's murder 'loss to the future of our community,' sheriff says

SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. - Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said the 22-year-old man gunned down in "cold blood" was "loved by everyone that knew him." The sheriff posted a heartfelt message to Facebook on Monday. It same more than ten days after the young man was found dead in the middle of the road.

"I want you to know the guy in this picture, his name is Jacqueris Holland," the sheriff's post begins.

Holland’s body was found just after 2:30 a.m. on May 27 in the 1600 block of North Hill Street near the old People’s Choice Club after deputies received a 911 call. Investigators learned a silver vehicle had fired shots into his car, striking him multiple times. Deputies said Holland then got out of the car, walked in front of it, and fell to the ground, never to get back up. The car sped off north and hasn’t been seen since. The sheriff said Holland died "alone."

"All of my criminal Investigators stayed at work gathering evidence, and conducting interviews for almost twenty-four straight hours the day Jacqueris was murdered. Since that day, my entire CID team has stopped almost everything they are doing and have worked this case," the sheriff wrote.

Jacqueris Holland (Spalding County Sheriff's Office)

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.

Sheriff Dix said that Holland’s mother, grandmother, and aunt are devastated by his loss, but are staying strong. The sheriff told the family he would continue to work hard and will locate those responsible.

"We also believe without a shadow of a doubt that this murder was gang related, and committed by gang members," the sheriff revealed.

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.

Sheriff Dix then expressed his outrage over gang violence ending his post:

"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."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office at 770-467-4282, ext. 31433.