Grovetown woman fatally shot outside Augusta bar; 2 arrested

Makala Perkins, victim (Facebook photo)

Date: May 12, 2023

(UPDATE: With arrests)

A Grovetown woman died Friday morning following an overnight shooting outside a nightclub on Deans Bridge Road in Augusta, authorities said.

Makala Perkins, 23, of Grovetown, died at Augusta University Medical Center, about two hours after she was shot at 4:35 a.m. Friday, Coroner Mark Bowen said.

Perkins was outside Suz Lounge at 3253 Deans Bridge Road when she was shot. The sheriff’s office said they were called to the parking lot for an assault and found the victim with at least one gunshot wound.

Suz Lounge, 3253 Deans Bridge Road, Augusta

On Friday afternoon, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests of Julius C. Morris III (39 years old) and Raheem R. Carter (29 years old) for murder and associated gun charges in reference to the incident. A motive was not released.

Julius Morris III (file mug/2015)
Raheem Carter (file mug/2015)

On her Facebook page, Perkins identified herself as a certified lash technician/artist.

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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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