Virtually every aspect of the 2017 slaying of Antonio Slater, 27, remains murky, including who found his body and who might have wanted him dead.
Police records show that officers were called to a residence at 714 Demaret St. in downtown Augusta on Feb. 6, 2017.
On the scene, they found Slater who had been shot in the abdomen. Slater, who was reported clad in only socks and underwear, was rushed to Augusta University Medical Center where he was taken immediately into surgery.
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According to the coroner’s report, despite using advanced life support measures, Slater’s internal bleeding was too great to overcome, and he was pronounced dead at 2:25 a.m.
Slater never became coherent enough to identify who shot him.
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Meanwhile, Slater’s stepfather, Darren Johnson, showed up to the hospital and told officers that an unidentified woman came to his house in the early morning hours and notified him and his wife, Paulette Johnson, that their son had been shot.
Johnson told police that he did not know the woman in question, but she gave him her name and phone number, which he had left at home in his rush to get to the hospital.
The mystery woman is not mentioned again in the official records obtained by The Augusta Press.
According to the coroner’s report, Sgt. Chris Langford informed the deputy coroner, William Leisey, that it was believed Slater was in the backseat of a car on the 100 block of East Chapman Street along with an unidentified woman when an unknown male subject opened the door to the car and fired a shot.
Apparently, Slater was able to flee and run to the Demaret Street address where one of his girlfriends lived and an ambulance was called.
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Johnson told police that Slater worked as a security guard at a plant in Grovetown. Slater did not have a criminal record.
The coroner’s report noted that Slater had multiple tattoos, including a Flash symbol and the numbers 1989, among others, but none of the tattoos showed any significance such as indications of gang affiliation.
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From there, police records show that investigators had very little to work with as Slater had no known enemies and no one could explain what he was doing in a car on East Chapman Street, in the wee hours of a Monday morning.
If you have any information in this case, please contact (706) 821-1020 or The Augusta Press at (706) 834-8677.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com. Anna Porzio is a researcher and editorial assistant. Reach her at anna@theaugustapress.com.
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