Jonathan Burden, 22, and Elijah Graham Obituary, Death; – Authorities are searching for an armed suspect in connection with a double homicide that left two young men dead at a Sandersville apartment complex Sunday night.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant Monday for Damian Kennon Reaves, 36, also known as “Knowledge,” of Sandersville, according to authorities. They consider Reaves armed and dangerous.
The shooting killed Jonathan Burden, 22, and Elijah Graham, 19, both of Sandersville, according to Washington County Sheriff Joel Cochran. Both families have been notified, authorities said.
Officers responded to Washington Manor Apartments on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue just before midnight Sunday in reference to a shooting, according to Sandersville Police Deputy Chief Brian Shelton. Upon arrival, they found two victims shot in the courtyard area of the Section 8 housing complex, Shelton said.
“Upon arrival, they locate they identified or found one subject down. Had a gunshot wound. He was deceased on scene,” Shelton said in an interview Monday. “Another subject was transported to the hospital who later succumbed to his injuries.”
Witnesses at the apartment complex told 13WMAZ they heard gunshots but declined to speak on camera, saying they feared retaliation. The witnesses said one of the victims went door-to-door asking residents to call 911 before he collapsed.
“We heard the gunshots,” One witness said. “Next thing, he was knocking on doors asking someone, anyone, to call 911.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Eastman office is leading the investigation with assistance from the Sandersville Police Department and Washington County Sheriff’s Office, according to Shelton. Police have not determined whether this was a targeted attack or established a motive, according to Shelton.
“This is very rare for our community,” Shelton said. “If you look back, historically, we may have a homicide a year, and that’s very minor compared to a lot of cities… we’re small and community-oriented, so everybody’s like family here,” he said.
Investigators from the three agencies have been actively interviewing witnesses and residents in the area since midnight Sunday, according to Shelton. “There’s no evidence that’s revealed that this poses any type of threat to the public,” Shelton said Monday before the suspect was identified.
Anyone with information about Reaves’ whereabouts is asked to call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 478-552-0911 or the GBI tip line at 800-597-8477.
