Tragedy struck Lake City on Valentine's Day when a 44-year-old man was fatally shot in a parking lot altercation, with two brothers now behind bars for the murder. According to FOX 5 Atlanta, the Lake City Police Department responded to the scene at The Flats shortly after 9 p.m., finding the victim and attempting life-saving measures to no avail. Suspects Jaquavise Woodard, 18, and Jaquez Woodard, 24, who lived in the apartment complex, were engaged in a dispute that spilled out of their residence and turned deadly.
Investigators recovered several firearms, including a rifle believed to be the murder weapon, in the wake of the shooting. The older Woodard brother, Jaquez, and the younger Jaquavise, are facing murder charges among other counts. While Jaquez has been charged with murder in the heat of the conflict, his brother Jaquavise Woodard is also facing additional accusations for reckless conduct and possession of a firearm during a crime, as detailed by law enforcement.
In related news, DeKalb County has witnessed a separate wave of violence end in lengthy prison sentences for twin brothers and a woman after a 2021 armed robbery and shooting in Stone Mountain. As reported by Atlanta News First, Donnell and Darnell Reed, both 30, and Christin Scales, also 30, engaged in a plot that left a man wounded and struggling for his life. Donnell and Darnell, emerging from an adjoining bedroom with guns, attacked the victim after Scales lured him to a condo under the pretense of a sexual transaction.
Following the armed confrontation, while Scales and Donnell Reed fled with the victim's car, Darnell Reed was shot accidentally during a struggle with the man he was holding at gunpoint. Captured by a neighbor's surveillance camera, Reed limped across the parking lot to seek refuge in his mother and sister’s condo unit. His brother Donnell Reed, who received a 45-year sentence with 35 to be served in confinement, and Scales, sentenced to 15 years, with 10 in confinement, fled the scene after dropping Darnell at a gas station feigning ignorance about his gunshot wounds. The man, who managed to alert neighbors and a MARTA bus driver to call 911, later positively identified Donnell Reed and Scales from a photo lineup.
The Lake City Police Department, along with The City of Morrow Police Department, the Clayton County Police Department, and the Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office, all expressed gratitude for the community’s assistance in apprehending the Woodard brothers. Meanwhile, the DeKalb District Attorney’s Office cited the cooperation of witnesses and law enforcement in bringing the Reeds and Scales to justice, a reminder of the violent intersections that can manifest from the darkest corners of deceit and discord.
