Four teenagers were charged Thursday with the shooting death of another teen that occurred the night of Aug. 20 in Statesboro, and was connected later to a robbery and stealing of a vehicle earlier that same evening.
According to a release from Statesboro Police Capt. Jared Akins, 17-year-olds Cameron Rock of Lanier Drive and Lucas Fields of Orleans Trail, along with a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old, all of Statesboro, were arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault in the killing of Jabari Walker, 17. Walker was found dead at a residence in the 100 block on Ladd Circle, which is off North Main St., near Fletcher Memorial Baptist Church.
Akins said, SPD officers and detectives responded about 8 p.m., Aug. 20, to the area of Eagle Court Apartments on Lanier Drive for a robbery which had occurred at that location. A man reported being robbed of his possessions by several suspects, all male, who had subsequently fled in a vehicle.
Less than one hour later, Akins said, officers and detectives responded to Ladd Circle for a report of a shooting. Upon their arrival, officers found Walker dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
“The scene was processed over a period of several hours and the entire neighborhood canvassed for witnesses and video evidence, including video obtained via the Fusus system and Flock tag readers,” Akins said.
In 2021, the SPD installed the contracted service Fusus, which provides real-time video to police headquarters from a network of participating private camera systems at locations such as apartment complexes and businesses. The archived video has helped police solve a number of crimes since the installation.
Akins said that it soon became apparent to investigators that the two incidents were connected and also tied into a vehicle reported stolen to the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office. Working with BCSO investigators, the stolen vehicle was recovered after it was dumped and subsequently processed for evidence.
Multiple search warrants were issued for electronic data and for specific locations during the course of these parallel investigations of the stolen vehicle and the homicide.
“Numerous interviews were conducted,” Akins said. “Detectives methodically built their cases over the subsequent two months.”
Akins said detectives served arrest warrants Thursday for murder and aggravated assault related to Walker’s killing on Rock, Fields and the two juveniles.
The four also are charged with robbery, which is related to the Eagle Court incident, and charges related to the vehicle reported stolen to the Sheriff’s Office. Investigation into the defendants' activities continue, and further charges stemming from other incidents are possible, Akins said.
All four remain either in the custody of the Bulloch County Jail or the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice.
“The SPD would like to thank its law enforcement partners with the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia State Patrol, the ATF, and the GBI Coastal Crime Lab for their assistance in solving these cases and bringing the defendants to justice.”
Akins asked anyone with information about the cases to contact Senior Detective Katie Reese or Detective Donald White at (912) 764-9911. Also, anonymous tips may be submitted to
www.tipsoft.com or by texting 274637 and entering “TIPSSPD” plus a message.