A mother and son have been arrested in the 2023 shooting death of the mother’s boyfriend, more than two years after the killing.
On Tuesday evening, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests of Mikeem Gaines, 22, and Garnett Gaines, 45, both of Lumpkin Road. The pair were taken into custody around 5:15 p.m. by local investigators, the Crime Suppression Team, and the U.S. Marshals Southeastern Fugitive Task Force.
They are charged with murder in the death of James Brinson, 42, who was gunned down on the morning of June 17, 2023, in the front yard of a home on Lumpkin Road, the same street where the suspects lived.
Brinson was found shot outside 2823 Lumpkin Road shortly after 8 a.m. and later died at Augusta University Medical Center.
Possible Motive. The cold case investigation was reignited when Mikeem Gaines told a friend that he had shot his mother’s boyfriend during a heated argument between the couple. The mother had reportedly yelled for her son to come outside during the argument at their Lumpkin Road residence. After a second demand to help her, Mikeem came outside and shot Brinson. Mikeem then fled the home, authorities said.
Instead of calling for help, Garnett Gaines went back inside for a few hours and then called the cops. She told responding deputies that she woke up and found her boyfriend outside. She said she tried to get Brinson into a vehicle to take him to the hospital, but could not manage it and called 911. The source of the new information stepped forward after alleged threats by Mikeem against him.
Mikeem has previously been charged with felony burglary in 2022 for allegedly breaking into his girlfriend’s home, but the charge was later pled down to criminal trespass with 12 months of probation.
As a 16-year-old boy, he was one of several juveniles who ran from deputies when they found the group smoking marijuana outside an abandoned home on Tallowtree Street. At the time, deputies turned Mikeem over to his mother.
Garnett Gaines has minor charges on her past, including marijuana possession and disorderly conduct.
Both mother and son were booked Tuesday into the Charles B. Webster Detention Center following their arrests.
Brinson, the youngest of three children, was a Josey High School graduate and a gifted musician, according to his obituary. He turned his passion for landscaping into a successful business, Everblades Professional Lawn Maintenance. A devoted son and member of Macedonia Baptist Church, he was known for his work ethic, love of learning, and talent for mechanics and horticulture.
