A paraprofessional in Richmond County schools was bound over on a murder charge Thursday in the November shooting death of an Augusta man.
Stephanie Overton, 38, is charged with murder for her involvement in the Nov. 20 shooting death of Ahmed J. Hill, who was the father of her friend Angel Burley’s child.
Burley’s son Ricardo Daggett, 20, is believed to have fatally shot Hill in the thigh with a shotgun in the incident, Inv. Sean Morrow with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office homicide division said at a Thursday hearing.
Daggett is a former Cross Creek High School basketball standout. He has not been located, Morrow said.
Overton, a friend of Burley’s from work, allegedly rode with and drove Daggett away from the scene at Hill’s house after the shooting, Morrow confirmed to Assistant Richmond County District Attorney Steve Curry during questioning.
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Hill was out on bond for domestic violence. Burley obtained a temporary protective order against him in 2021 after he broke her nose, according to court records. The sheriff’s office charged him for dragging Burley out of a car and down a driveway in front of their small child.
Hill was not allowed to be anywhere near Burley, although she came to his house before the incident.
Overton, who remains jailed at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center, had not been indicted or formally charged previously with a crime.
Defense attorney Charles Lyons questioned why Hill contacted an uncle, the key witness in the case, rather than the police, when Burley and Overton appeared at his house.
The uncle, Ken Hunter, “appeared to be some type of enforcer,” Lyons said.
Richmond County Civil and Magistrate Judge Shawn Merzlak said the standard at Overton’s initial appearance hearing Thursday was low, and based on there being any reasonable basis to connect Overton to the crime. He found that there was.
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
