Son arrested in slaying of 65-year-old dad outside North Augusta

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Authorities have arrested a son accused of killing his father just outside North Augusta, one of the latest shootings in a wave of them as the CSRA copes with an outbreak of violent crime.

THE LATEST Aiken law enforcement agencies discuss public safety issues

Aiken County deputies say they discovered the shooting after going to a home at 5274 Dogwood Drive around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to check on the well-being of the resident.

After getting no response from anyone at the home, deputies say they found the back door unlocked. Deputies entered and found a man dead on the floor of the main bedroom closet. He had a gunshot wound to his head.

The Aiken County Coroner’s Office was called to the scene and identified the victim as 65-year-old Bobby Miller.

The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office contacted Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia with information on the investigation and the possible suspect.

Investigators say they obtained arrest warrants for 42-year-old Jason Glenn Miller, of North Augusta. Deputies say the suspect is the victim’s son and is wanted on suspicion of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.

MORE | Aiken law enforcement agencies discuss public safety issues

He’s being held in Colquitt County jail pending an extradition hearing.

The victim, who’ll be autopsied Friday, was the sixth person killed by a shooting in Aiken County in a little over a week.

Aiken County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Eric Abdullah said the shootings were all considered isolated incidents, and that the community’s help is crucial in tracking down suspects.

“We greatly appreciate the communication from the community in providing information to us,” he said. “We couldn’t do this without them.”

Other shootings

Meanwhile across the Savannah River in Georgia, authorities reported two other shootings Tuesday night:

Steve Morris with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said one incident happened at Waylon Drive and Shawns Way around 5 p.m. Tuesday. The victim suffered minor injuries, a graze wound from a gunshot.
And in Richmond County, around 6:20 p.m., a Gold Cross medical unit was flagged down by a driver at Peach Orchard Road at Trout Drive in reference to a passenger with a gunshot wound to his right shoulder. He was transported to Augusta University Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to officials. The sheriff’s office and its criminal investigation division are investigating.

AUGUSTA CRIME OUTBREAK:

A deadly outbreak

In a highly visible and proactive effort, authorities on both sides of the river are working to turn back a tide of deadly shootings.

The latest Aiken County shooting happened as the county was already grappling with five shooting deaths in two separate incidents about a week apart.

Authorities haven’t released suspect descriptions in a shooting at a Days Inn hotel at 2654 Columbia Highway North on Saturday. The victims were Barry J. Redding, 39, and Stephan A. Poole, 40, of Aiken.

And the weekend before, a Sunday afternoon shooting on Wadley Drive in Aiken left three teenagers dead. One suspect was arrested and another remains at-large in the deaths of 17-year-old Willie L. Garrett IV, 16-year-old Ivan Perry and 16-year-old Cameron Carroll.

Although people are being killed on both the Georgia and South Carolina sides of the CSRA during the outbreak of violence, Augusta has been hit especially hard.

We’re on pace to pass last year’s total of homicides in Richmond County. Last year’s total was the lowest in three years, but the sheriff’s office says this comes in waves.

Days into the initial outbreak, Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree said he was taking “decisive action” to turn back the trend. Blaming at least part of the problem on gangs, he pledged to initiate “proactive teams conducting operations” in areas affected by gangs. He also rolled out plans to install 25 high-tech cameras that can read license plates and match them up with known criminals.

Augusta Mayor-Elect Garnett Johnson says one of his top priorities is to turn around the crime trend.

“Crime is rampant in our city. This violence and gang-related violence is a problem. I intend on making sure the sheriff’s office has everything he needs to retain and hire the best officers,” said Johnson.

The death toll mounts

Other homicides and suspicious deaths in the CSRA since April 14 include:

On June 30, Thaddeus Rodregus Price, 22, of Augusta, was shot just before 1 a.m. at Sycamore Drive and Alpine Road and pronounced dead on the scene at 2:03 a.m.
Tammy Mantooth, 57, from Lola, Kansas, was pronounced dead June 23 after being found in the back of a sport utility vehicle at Azalea Park Apartments, 1814 Fayetteville Drive in Augusta. The death os considered suspicious.
A shooting early June 19 in the 700 block of Broad Street claimed the life of 31-year-old Percy Luther Johnson of Fredericksburg, Va.
Around 3 a.m. Saturday, Trevor Sumpter, 25, of Barnwell, was shot dead in the 200 block of Bomba Street in Barnwell. A suspect has been arrested.
At 10th and Broad Street in downtown Augusta, a shooting claimed the life of 21-year-old Logan Etterle early June 12. Two suspects have been arrested.
Also on June 12, Jakwan Gunter, 19, was found shot dead at 11th Avenue and Grand Boulevard. Deputies told News 12 they believe the shooting was gang-related.
On June 14, Eurl Kittles, 42, of Augusta, was fatally shot at a Captain D’s restaurant at 3166 Wrightsboro Road. Authorities are searching for Ravanell Gomillion, 40, in connection with the slaying.
On June 3 in the 100 block of Pelzer Street in Warrenville, 34-year-old Lacey Toole was shot dead by her boyfriend John Williams, who then turned the gun on himself.
On June 2 on Summerhill Avenue, 37-year-old Yoni Vargas shot his wife, 33-year-old Rosa Salguero-Landaverde, then killed himself.
On May 29, a shooting killed two people – 17-year-old William Mykell Lowery and 30-year-old Christopher “Scooter” Dunn – at a “Freaknik”-themed party being held at a ballpark outside Sandersville, Ga. The shooting is believed to be the result of an altercation.
Patricia Dent, 65, was strangled to death by her boyfriend Joseph McKinnon, who then buried her body in their yard at 102 Tanglewood Drive in Trenton, authorities say. They learned of her death on May 7 after finding McKinnon dead of a heart attack he suffered while burying Dent.
A shooting just before 7:30 p.m. on 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.
On April 19, Brittany Dougherty was found slain 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.
On April 18, Johnnie Coleman was found 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. Kelvin Lewis, 33, has been arrested as a suspect in the murders of Coleman and Dougherty.
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 on 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. on April 14 in the 2300 block of Prague Court. He was pronounced dead at 11:23 p.m.

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