Suspect arrested in pair of Augusta murders last month

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Noticing similarities between two recent killings, deputies have tracked down a man suspected in both cases.

It all came together Friday, according to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

That’s when investigators were working leads they’d uncovered while investigating similarities in the April murders of Johnnie Coleman and Brittany Dougherty.

Investigators were able to locate Kelvin Lewis, 33, of Augusta, and a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle used during both murders.

Deputies said investigators tied him to both crimes, apprehended him without incident and charged him with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

He’s been booked into the Charles B. Webster Detention Center.

Dougherty, 29, of Augusta, was found dead April 19 outside a vacant home in the 1500 block of Conklin Lane. Her death was considered suspicious from the start, but within hours the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office ruled her death a homicide.

The day before, a passing motorist had found Coleman, 72, of Augusta shot dead in the 1900 block of Old Savannah Road. Authorities released a photo of a car suspected to have been linked to that slaying.

The murders were among several that unfolded in recent weeks as Richmond County struggled with a deadly surge of violent crime. In recent days, the violence has spilled across the Savannah River to Aiken County in South Carolina.

Besides the deaths of Doughtery and Coleman, CSRA slayings since April 14 include.

• Late May 3, Charles L. Bradley, 49, of Aiken was found shot dead inside a car at Hampton Avenue and Assembly Street in Aiken. The shooting was one of three gunfire incidents that night in Aiken. No one was hurt in the others.
• A shooting just before 7:30 p.m. April 23 claimed the life of Rodriquez Dunn, 31, at the Olmstead Homes in the 2100 block of B Street in Augusta. Dunn suffered at least one gunshot wound and died at the scene.
• Jenefer Holt Herron, 52, of Augusta, died late April 18 after being shot during an argument outside the Circle K at 1739 Walton Way in Augusta. 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.
• JaJuan Russell, 21, of Augusta, was fatally shot early April 17 in the 3700 block of Oslo Road in Augusta. Russell was taken to Augusta University Medical Center.
• 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, was arrested.
• Brandon Peebles, 24, of Girard, was shot around 10:45 p.m. April 14 in the 2300 block of Prague Court. He was pronounced dead at 11:23 p.m.

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