An Augusta commissioner is calling for a crackdown on a crime-ridden convenience store in her district.
Commissioner Catherine Smith McKnight wants the Augusta Commission to discuss at its Tuesday meeting “security, licensing and even possibly closing Smart Grocery on Wrightsboro Road.”
The store, located in the 2200 block of Wrightsboro Road, was recently the scene of a Dec. 11 homicide after deputies found 32-year-old Jeremiah Griffin shot to death there.
Authorities arrested the alleged driver, 21-year-old Tashanna McDaniel, while 16-year-old suspected shooter Sanqwon Berry remains at large. Berry got into an argument with Griffin prior to shooting him, according to police.
McKnight, who has opposition for reelection this year, said given the amount of violence at the complex, the owner ought to have security on premises or have his license be placed on probation.
Evans River Island homeowner Sae W. Pak owns the entire strip containing the convenience store, as well as the mini-strip mall immediately east, according to property records.
The property borders the University System of Georgia’s Augusta University Forest Hills campus.
The Smart Grocery was the scene of the September 2022 homicide of Zayquantez Jones, 17. Police arrested and charged Darontaye Cummings, 17, with that killing.
It was the scene of an alleged March 28 carjacking by Gregory Louis Thornton. That incident took place after Thornton, 30, and co-defendant Tia Shante Jackson are accused of killing 13-year-old Buddy Brown Jr. at the Richmond Summit apartments.
Pak’s Wrightsboro addresses have been the scene of various shootings, aggravated assaults, armed robberies and auto thefts over the years.
In 2020 Augusta mom Emily Broadwater was reportedly awarded $6 million by Little Caesars, located next to Smart Grocery in the complex, after she was brutally attacked while waiting for a pizza.
As far back as 2010, in the unsolved homicides of Beech Island teens Nancy Cushman and Angela Brooks, Smart Grocery video showed two men exiting Cushman’s stolen car at the store.
ARP grant to aid court backlogs
In other action, the commission is set to approve Tuesday the acceptance of a $387,569 American Rescue Plan Act grant for 2024.
Administered by the Judicial Council of the Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts, the grants were allocated by Gov. Brian Kemp to address case backlogs.
They can be used to hire additional staff and acquire additional workspace to address the backlogs, particularly serious violent felonies.
The agenda item includes the carryover of $471,710 from some $2.5 million in grant funds awarded the Augusta Judicial Circuit during 2023.
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
