Police: Suspect in grandmother's murder connected to bowling alley killing
LILBURN, Ga. - A teenager charged in connection with the murder of a grandmother in Atlanta now faces a second murder charge, Lilburn Police announced Tuesday.
Lilburn Police confirmed to FOX 5 Atlanta they have charged 18-year-old Khalid Bays along with Geovanni Perez with the July shooting death of 20-year-old Rahmier Gardner outside of the Brunswick Zone bowling facility off of Lawrenceville Highway.
“No one involved in this case is older than 20, so its disconcerting that people this young are involved in this level of violence,” said Capt. Scott Bennett, Lilburn Police Department.
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The announcement comes after Bays turned himself in to Atlanta Police on Friday for the shooting death of the grandmother
“We had a major break last week when Atlanta Police got a big break on their case from mid-August with a grandmother who was shot in an attempted carjacking,” said Capt. Bennett.
Earlier last week, Atlanta Police identified Bays as one of the suspects wanted for last month’s shooting death of 49-year-old Beverly Jenkins.
MORE: Police: Second suspect in grandmother's murder in custody
Jenkins died on Aug. 12 when a bullet struck her in the head as she drove home from a shift at the City of Refuge where she worked helping homeless mothers. A witness saw her car run off the road near the intersection of Hopkins Street and Westview Drive. Officers found Jenkins’ body in the minivan when they arrived.
Police said nearby surveillance video caught four men in the area following the incident. Investigators said they have identified them all and arrested 17-year-old Adarius Jones last Wednesday.
The break in the Atlanta case came after investigators connected shell casings from the Atlanta murder to a carjacking at 1685 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.
After the July shooting, Lilburn Police said they did not have a motive for the murder of Gardner who was a 2016 graduate of Brookwood High and played on the school baseball team.
“Mr. Perez has been a person of interest and focus of investigation he crossed over into being full-blown suspect,” said Capt. Bennett.
Lilburn Police said their investigation into Gardner’s death is not over and another person may be charged with his death.
We are looking for a female, Hispanic, late teens to early twenties resident of southwest Atlanta who may have knowledge or be involved [in the crime],” said Capt. Bennett.
As of the late Tuesday, Bays was booked into the Fulton County Jail. He has been charged with aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, murder and two counts of possession of a firearm during a commission of a felony.
Officers have booked Perez into the Gwinnett County Jail. He is currently charged with felony murder and aggravated assault.
“We are a small city and we typically don’t have this kind of crime it caused a lot of concern among residents and business owners,” said Capt. Bennett.
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