Richmond County Sheriff Admits: Investigation Oversights Discovered in June Shooting Linked to Mall Event

AUGUSTA, Ga. () – Questions have been raised about how the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office handled a shooting in June prior to the deadly Augusta Mall shooting Tuesday. 

During a Wednesday news conference, Richmond County Sheriff Eugene Brantley confirmed that 17-year-old victim Devon McClain and others involved in the mall shooting were also connected to a previous incident that occurred in Harrisburg in June.

Brantley also acknowledged that the Sheriff’s Office made mistakes in that case. 

“We kind of dropped the ball at the Sheriff’s Office as it relates to our investigation and getting the case file to the district attorney in a timely fashion,” Brantley said.  

“There were emails sent from the District Attorney requesting us to complete the file and the case report, and we didn’t do so in a time frame which was conducive to them.” 

Deputies also responded to a shooting on Druid Park Avenue they say may be related to the shooting at Augusta Mall. One of the suspects is Tian’trez Freeman, the 14-year-old brother of the mall shooting victim.

The mall shooting is something that concerns Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson.

“I don’t know if you’ve seen that video, but I’ve seen the video—it’s a sense of shock that in a very public place young people would decide to take up their beef and endanger others,” said Mayor Johnson.

As far as the shooting in Harrisburg is concerned, Brantley stated that his department needs to “do a better job” to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.