Augusta teen killed in shooting on Bolt Drive

Makel Jones (Contributed photo)

Date: April 03, 2024

An Augusta teen was shot Monday night on Bolt Drive and died later at the hospital, authorities said.

Makel Jones, 19, was shot just before midnight Monday on the 2000 block of Bolt Drive. He was rushed to Wellstar MCG, where he was pronounced dead at 12:37 a.m. Tuesday, Coroner Mark Bowen said.

Authorities said they responded to gunfire around 11:40 p.m. Monday and arrived after Jones had been taken to the hospital.

Richmond County authorities have identified a suspect but they have not been arrested, and their name has not been released.


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The victim’s aunt, Jessica Tellado, said the shooting happened while a group of them were outside. She said her nephew was trying to defend his sister from a male acquaintance who had struck Jones’ sister.

“(Makel) was like, ‘Don’t hit on my sister like that. … (The suspect) came back and shot him in the stomach,” Tellado said. “He didn’t even touch the guy. He just said keep your hands to yourself.”

Jones was being remembered online as a young father to a 1-year-old boy and someone who enjoyed working out at the Boys and Girls Club. He also has an identical twin who has not taken the death well, according to Tellado.

Victim Makel Jones is shown with his son in this Facebook photo.

Jay Pooser said, “That’s crazy man. Nobody should lose their life at such an young age. Y’all gotta stop all that shooting each other.”

Note: If you have a better photo of Makel or a memory to share, please text it to 803-487-3224.

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The Author

Greg Rickabaugh is an award-winning crime reporter in the Augusta-Aiken area with experience writing for The Augusta Chronicle and serving as publisher of The Jail Report. He also owns AugustaCrime.com. Rickabaugh is a 1994 graduate of the University of South Carolina and has appeared on several crime documentaries on the Investigation Discovery channel. He is married with two daughters.

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