Over the past few weeks, Richmond County has had a number of shootings across the area but especially in downtown Augusta.
Three killings have happened downtown since June 12.
On June 12, Richmond County Sheriff’s responded to shots fired at 10th Street and Broad Street in downtown Augusta.
Keyon Levon Smiley, 31, and De’Andre Tandy, were arrested in the shooting death of 21-year-old Logan Etterle. Coroner Mark Bowen pronounced Etterle dead on the scene at 2:56 a.m.
Jakwan Gunter, 19, was also found dead in a shooting on 11th Avenue and Grand Boulevard the same night as Etterle. Gunter was pronounced dead at 4:06 a.m. according to Bowen.
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The most recent downtown killing was on Sunday, June 19, on the 700 block of Broad Street.
Percy Luther Johnson, 31, of Fredericksburg, Va., was shot at least one time and was taken to the Augusta University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:43 a.m. according to an email from Coroner Mark Bowen.
“I have been here for 10 years, and we’ve never had two homicides in basically two consecutive weekends since I have been here that I remember,” said Richmond County Chief Deputy Patrick Clayton.
Even though Richmond County already has many deputies patrolling the downtown area, the department has plans to increase the number of deputies in the downtown area, especially during the early hours of the morning, according to Clayton.
“We have had a large contingency, but we’re going to continue to have even more of a contingency downtown,” Clayton said. “The immediate thing we’re doing is beefing up our presence downtown at strategic times. We can beef it up during peak times when we expect trouble.”
Another plan for Richmond County is to increase the number of flock cameras.
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These cameras were brought in early last year to help reduce crime in the area. The cameras have helped catch suspects in vehicle thefts, track missing people and provide leads to other cases.
The commission has approved a grant to give Richmond County Sheriff’s Office an additional 25 flock cameras and some of the cameras will be installed in the downtown area.
According to Clayton, Richmond County has also been approved for a SPLOST project, currently tier three, that will bring a comprehensive downtown camera program.
“This will be a real big game changer once we start that,” Clayton said. “When I was with the board of education police, we had losses of $750,000 dollars. When we implemented a comprehensive camera program, it brought them down to only $58,000.”
Clayton and the Richmond County Sheriff Office is also encouraging citizens for their help if they notice a situation escalating.
“We need for the citizens to help us, if they see things escalating, call us immediately,” Clayton said.
