A deadly shooting that left a 29-year-old man dead on the 600 block of Boulevard NE in Old Fourth Ward has finally produced arrests, nearly five months after the pre-dawn gunfire first drew police to the scene. Atlanta police have charged 29-year-old Zahair Myles and 25-year-old Jacquawn Andrews with felony murder, and the path to their arrests stretched from a Fulton County jail cell all the way to the Canadian border.
Officers first responded around 4:29 a.m. on April 25 to reports of a person shot on the 600 block of Boulevard NE, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Responding officers located a 29-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, and homicide detectives took over the investigation given the severity of his injuries. The victim was initially taken to a hospital in critical condition but later died from his injuries, per authorities. Police have not released the victim's identity.
Two Suspects, Two Very Different Paths to Custody
Myles turned himself in to the Fulton County Jail on September 14, the station's report notes, while Andrews was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol on September 1 as he attempted to re-enter the United States from Canada. Andrews is currently booked into Wayne County Jail in Michigan pending extradition to Georgia, and the linked Georgia statute addresses prisoners and detainers, including a 180-day trial-related procedure after a prisoner requests final disposition, according to Justia Law.
Andrews faces felony murder, armed robbery and aggravated assault charges, per the same account, while Myles faces felony murder, criminal attempt to commit a felony, armed robbery and aggravated assault charges. Police have not released what led to the shooting or the specific motive investigators believe prompted the alleged robbery, nor have they said who is believed to have fired the fatal shots.
Why Prosecutors Don't Need a Motive to Convict
Under Georgia law, felony murder occurs when a death is caused during the commission of a felony such as armed robbery, regardless of malice or intent to kill, according to The Epps Law Group. That means prosecutors will not need to establish who wanted the victim dead, or even prove either defendant intended to kill anyone, only that a death occurred during the robbery itself. The charge carries a mandatory penalty of life imprisonment with or without parole, or the death penalty.
The underlying armed robbery charge carries its own steep exposure. Georgia's armed robbery statute allows punishment by death, life imprisonment, or a prison term of not less than 10 and not more than 20 years, according to Chehimi Law.
A Facility Under Federal Scrutiny
Myles now sits in the Fulton County Jail, a facility that has been the subject of a federal Department of Justice civil-rights investigation that found constitutional and legal violations, where the average stay reached 218 days in 2025, according to The Bail Project. That backdrop adds another layer of scrutiny to a case that will likely wind through the county's already strained pretrial system for months to come.
A Corridor in Transition Near the BeltLine
The 600 block of Boulevard NE sits along a redeveloping commercial corridor just south of Ponce de Leon Avenue and near the Atlanta BeltLine's Eastside Trail, where older buildings and small parking lots have increasingly given way to new retail and drive-thru development, per Urbanize Atlanta. The shooting was reported at 633 Boulevard NE.
The block has seen serious violent crime before. A 2021 incident there led to second-degree murder charges against a stepfather following an infant's death at a nearby apartment complex, according to a video posted to Facebook.
Citywide Drop in Killings, But Disputes Persist
The case lands amid a broader shift in Atlanta's crime picture. Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum reported in January that annual homicides in the city dropped below 100 in 2025 for the first time since before the pandemic, though aggravated assaults surged above 3,000 cases, with escalating personal disputes identified as the main driver, according to CBS News. Atlanta's patrol zones remain part of that broader crime picture.
Still, busy Old Fourth Ward corridors near the BeltLine remain a focus of neighborhood concern. For now, the identity of the man killed on Boulevard NE remains undisclosed, and the specific motive behind the robbery-turned-fatal shooting has not been made public.
