Augusta, GA

2020 Augusta barbershop double slaying suspects found guilty

Published

3 months ago

May 24, 2024

2020 Augusta barbershop double slaying suspects found guilty

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The District Attorney’s Major Crimes Division announces the guilty verdict in the November 2020 Eve Street barber shop double murder.

Kazarie Middleton, 21, of Augusta, and Cortez Berry, 27, of Augusta, have been found guilty on all counts, to include malice and felony murder, according to the district attorney’s office.

The third co-defendant, Marquise Harris, is set to plead guilty, officials say.

The men will be sentenced Friday, May 31 at 9:30 a.m. by Judge Amanda Heath. The minimum sentence on Murder is Life Imprisonment.

Officials also say the case was tried by Assistant District Attorney Justin Mullis of the Special Victims Unit. He was assisted at trial by co-counsel ADA Dre’Kevius Huff.

Support for the victims’ families was provided by Victim Advocate Shelly Blaisdell. The week-long trial ended moments ago with the jury’s decisive verdict.

Meguel Freeman, of Augusta, was 48 years of age. Wyman Scott, of Augusta, was 34 years of age.

They deserved better than the senseless violence that claimed their lives. Their families deserved better. Our community deserves better. Your District Attorney’s Office will continue fighting to make this a safer place to call home,” District Attorney Jared Williams says.

A third suspect has been arrested in the Nov. 23 shooting deaths of two men at a barbershop in a crime that rocked Augusta’s Harrisburg neighborhood.

Cortez Bernard Berry was arrested Wednesday, according to Richmond County jail records.

He faces two counts of murder, a count of possession of a firearm or knife during a crime, criminal attempt and parole violation.

Two suspects had already been arrested in connection with the slayings at Johnson’s Beauty & Barber Salon, 706 Eve St.

The slayings left the community in mourning and served as wake-up call to a deadly crime wave across the CSRA.

The big break in the Augusta case came in mid-December, according to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. That’s when investigators learned the identities of three suspects.

Cortez Berry(WRDW)

Investigators arrested and charged Marquise Harris and Kazarie Middleton, both 18-year-old Augusta residents, with two counts of murder, criminal attempted armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, according to the sheriff’s agency.

A third suspect — Berry — remained at-large until Wednesday.

The bodies of the victims, Meguel D. Freeman, 48, and Wyman K. Scott, 34, both of Augusta, were found at the barbershop by a customer, who contacted authorities at 2:18 p.m. Nov. 23.

Freeman was a barber there, and Wyman was a customer.

In the same week, authorities have breaks in a double murder at an Augusta barbershop and two slayings across the river.

Neighbors took the shooting hard.

“It could have been any one of us around here. It’s getting dangerous out here, especially in this neighborhood,” next-door neighbor Claude told News 12 in the days after the slaying.

It was one of the most shocking in a string of deadly crimes across the region that claimed at least seven lives and lasted into early December.

Those crimes included the late November slaying of a North Augusta man at the Seventh Lounge in Aiken and the fatal shooting of a 77-year-old in Barnwell County.

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Augusta, GA

Children’s Hospital lobby closes due to construction

Published

1 hour ago

August 28, 2024

Press Room

Children’s Hospital lobby closes due to construction

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The lobby of the Children’s Hospital of Georgia will be closed for renovations starting Thursday.

The main entrance, first floor elevator, lobby and traffic circle will be closed.

Parking will be in the medical center parking deck 2 and visitors will then enter Wellstar MCG through entrance F on Harper Street.

Construction is expected to last until spring 2025.

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Augusta, GA

Pace Living brings more affordable housing to Augusta

Published

9 hours ago

August 27, 2024

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Pace Living brings more affordable housing to Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Gordon Highway Inn just became Pace Corners, an affordable housing apartment complex.

With rising costs from the grocery store to your utility bills, people are looking for ways to cut costs in the future.

This is also not the only affordable housing project in the works in Augusta.

Groceries, gas, rent and the price for necessities are constantly increasing. According to Zillow, the average rent price in Augusta is $1,295 a month.

“I know the personal stories of individuals here that need that affordability, so it really hit home,” said Jacob Glover, Pace Living’s director of operations.

Also, in Augusta, Legacy at Walton Greens opened in May, bringing 250 units with it.

Right now, they only have four available units and they said they tend to go fast.

It’s why Glover says this project was brought to life.

“We’re already accepting applications,” said Glover. “We already have individuals ready to gear up, ready to move in.”

Pace Corners provides 75 units with a bathroom and kitchenette.

The units are priced at around $800-850 a month, including utilities and internet.

“The challenges were worth it,” he said. “We’re so excited to be here and be against the market to provide affordable living.”

Angie Cox, the CEO of Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce, says they are excited to have Pace Living be a part of the community.

“To have 75 affordable housing units for our workforce is life-changing for someone,” said Cox. “It’s very transformative.”

Glover says the need for affordable housing is all over the country. He says he is thankful to be able to serve that need in Augusta.

“I go all across the southeast, and I walk many properties in a lot of different places, but this one hit home to me because not only am I here, but I know the demand is so great here,” said Glover.

Glover says this is not their only project that’s in the works right now in Augusta.

They’re also building affordable housing aimed towards military families which should be complete in 2025.

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Augusta, GA

Former APD officer arrested on enticing child charge

Published

19 hours ago

August 27, 2024

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Former APD officer arrested on enticing child charge

AUGUSTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First, WRDW/WAGT) – A former Atlanta Police Department officer was arrested in east Georgia on an enticing a child charge.

Benjamin Travis Hopson, 34, was arrested by Richmond County deputies on Aug. 24, according to WRDW, Atlanta News First’s sister station in Augusta.

Hopson was charged with enticing a child for indecent purposes.

WRDW reported that authorities said Saturday morning they were looking for Hopson, and he was arrested later that afternoon.

The charges stem from an incident in the 1000 block of Stevens Creek Road in Augusta in June, WRDW reported.

WRDW reported jail booking information, the incident report and Hopson’s booking photo were not immediately available.

The Atlanta Police Department said it is aware of the investigation into Hopson, a former public information officer. Hopson was “relieved from duty and placed in a non-enforcement, administrative assignment” in May 2023, APD said. The department said he had been on extended unpaid leave before he was fired on Aug. 23.

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