Richmond County authorities are investigating a weekend shooting death of a homeless man outside the Sleep Inn on Claussen Road in Augusta.
Deputies responded to a shooting at 2:10 p.m. Sunday. They found a man who had been shot.
Coroner Mark Bowen said the victim was rushed to Augusta University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 2:47 p.m. Sunday. He has been identified as 62-year-old Barry Monoochee Lew.
The sheriff’s office said they had no suspect information in the killing, and the coroner said the man’s name will be released when his family has been notified.
There are reports the man was seen going in and out of the Suburban Studios next door and may have lived there.
The death marks the first recorded homicide of the year in Richmond County. According to sheriff’s officials, there were 38 homicide cases last year with 41 deaths. Those do not include two deaths of innocent victims who were killed during police chases that led to murder charges against two fleeing suspects.
