Sheriff cracks down as Richmond County crime wave resurges

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - After a two-day break, a surge in violent crime made a return in Richmond County with two weekend shootings, one of them deadly.

Meanwhile, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office announced several arrests as a result of “proactive operations” against gun violence.

The latest fatal shooting happened just before 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Deputies were called to the Olmstead Homes in the 2100 block of B Street, where they found 31-year-old Rodriquez Dunn with at least one gunshot wound. He died at the scene.

Another weekend shooting didn’t hurt anyone. Around 4 a.m. Saturday, Richmond County deputies responded to the shooting at 1157 Broad St., the Garden City Social bar in downtown Augusta. Authorities say it was the result of a confrontation between people on the street and bouncers.

Augusta has seen a wave of homicides and shootings in the past two weeks, prompting Sheriff Richard Roundtree to issue a statement last Tuesday that “decisive action” was being taken to stem the violence.

Toward that end, his agency said Monday afternoon it had conducted search warrants at 1691 Luckey St.; 1693 Luckey St.; 1726 Meadow St.; 2120 Sanders Road; 2219 Walden Drive, Apt B5; 2634 Claymont Road; 1037 Country Place; and 524 Richmond Hill Road, Apt 18A.

The agency also released a photo of seized items that include apparent drugs, guns and cash.

The agency listed several suspects apparently arrested in the operations. Charges weren’t available for all of them, but the suspects included Roderick Bowers; Daven Jackson on drug and weapons charges; Jabree Mears; Natoya Ware on drug charges; Dameon Williams on drug charges; Tre’Quon Williams on drug and weapons charges; Erica Willingham on drug charges; and Mylaik Wimberly.

PHOTO GALLERY | SUSPECTS ARRESTED:

After the sheriff issued his statement pledging such actions as road checks and increased enforcement on hot spots for gun violence, there were two shootings two nights in a row at locations within eyesight of one another.

One Wednesday outside Paul’s IGA, 2 Greene St., injured a man in the leg a night after someone shot up a Chevron station at 202 East Boundary, although no one was hurt in that shooting.

Then after a two-day pause, there were the weekend shootings.

The crime wave hasn’t been limited to Richmond County In Wednesday night, there was a hostage incident and shoot-out with law enforcement officers that resulted in the arrest of suspect Nathaniel Meade.

Since April 14:

• A dead female was found just before noon Tuesday outside a vacant home in the 1500 block of Conklin Lane. The death was considered suspicious from the start, but the coroner ruled Tuesday that the death was the result of a homicide. The victim was identified Wednesday as Brittany Kristina Dougherty, 29, of Augusta,
• Jenefer Holt Herron, 52, of Augusta, died late April 18 after being shot during an argument outside the Circle K at 1739 Walton Way . The shooter fled in a gray sport utility vehicle, but suspect Yelena Buckner, 33, of Augusta, was later found and arrested on charges of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, deputies reported.
• At 7:23 a.m. April 18, deputies were called to the 1900 block of Old Savannah Road, where a passing motorist found Johnnie Coleman, 72, of Augusta, who’d been shot dead.
• JaJuan Russell, 21, of the 700 block of East Chapman Street, was fatally shot early April 17 in the 3700 block of Oslo Road. Russell was taken to Augusta University Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at 1:14 a.m. An autopsy was scheduled with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
• Sandersville police found the body of a man April 16 inside a home on Gwendolyn Street while responding to a report of a domestic dispute at the address. Santavious Louis Roberts, 35, of Sandersville, has been arrested.
• Brandon Peebles, 24, of Girard, was shot around 10:45 p.m. April 14 in the 2300 block of Prague Court, the same neighborhood as Sunday’s shooting. He was pronounced dead at 11:23 p.m. Bowen said the victim’s body was sent to the GBI.

Copyright 2022 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.