Augusta, GA

Deputies arrest pair wanted in July shooting at gas station

Published

2 years ago

April 17, 2024

Deputies arrest pair wanted in July shooting at gas station

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Two suspects who were wanted in connection to a shooting at the Get-N-Go convenience store on Windsor Spring Road in July 2023 have been arrested, according to jail records.

Authorities say Ricky Maurice Parker Jr., 21, and Bryson Marcell Burns, 22, were arrested on Tuesday after being wanted for a shooting that happened on July 16, 2023.

Deputies say around 3:12 p.m. they responded to the store in connection to shots fired. Investigators learned Parker and Burns fired shots at the 19-year-old victim.

Parker and Burns are both from the 3700 block of Lexington Drive in Augusta, according to officials.

It’s the same convenience store where 15-year-old Jordan Gaynor was fatally shot June 1 and that’s been the site of two other fatal shootings since 2020.

Once on the scene of the July 16 shooting, deputies met with a woman who said she was standing outside the store when two men began shooting. A tire on her vehicle was damaged during the shooting, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies then spoke to another witness who said he picked up the 19-year-old victim on Meadowbrook Drive and gave him a ride to the store.

The witness told officials while the 19-year-old was walking out of the store, the suspects were parked in front of the store in a black 2018 Ford Focus. Burns and Parker got out of the vehicle and began to shoot at the 19-year-old, according to the report.

The victim then got into the witness’s car, and they drove away. The 19-year-old got out of the car and left traveling north on Windsor Spring Road, according to the witness’s statement.

His vehicle and one gas pump were also damaged during the shooting, officials say.

Video footage from the scene shows Burns and Parker firing handguns at the victim. Officials say the 19-year-old can then be seen running away from the suspects out of the frame.

Deputies talked with the victim at Piedmont Hospital.

Parker has been charged with nine counts of criminal damage to property in the first degree, five counts of aggravated assault, and one count of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to jail records.

Charges against Burns are still pending, according to jail records.

Source link

Click to comment

Augusta, GA

Finding Solutions: Augusta Juvenile Court receives grant for gang prevention

Published

6 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Finding Solutions: Augusta Juvenile Court receives grant for gang prevention

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Augusta Juvenile Court received a grant of more than $1 million to prevent youth from joining gangs by addressing underlying factors that lead to criminal behavior.

The grant from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council will allow the court to expand services beyond its current programs and serve a broader population of at-risk youth.

“This allows us to build on the work we are currently doing. It also allows us to serve a different population of youth that we have not been able to serve on such an extended level, so we have additional funds that will serve even more kids and to hopefully assist the sheriff and district attorney in not having youthful offenders become adult offenders that they have to obtain and prosecute,” said Chief Judge Tianna Bias.

Addressing root causes

The funding will target factors that make youth vulnerable to gang recruitment, including poor school attendance and reading difficulties.

“Whether it’s that they have poor school attendance, not reading on grade level. One thing we’ve seen is that when you are not reading on grade level that has an impact on many other areas of your life. It’s really just an opportunity to offer wrap-around support for these kids so we can prevent them from getting into unfortunate situations that they may not end up in front of a juvenile court judge later,” Bias said.

Dr. Audrey Armistad, chief intake officer for the juvenile court, said the court’s goal is rehabilitation rather than detention.

“We put them in programs and services that help them to be able to develop mentally, socially and physically when it comes to kids involved with the juvenile court,” Armistad said.

Expanding services

The juvenile court currently serves at-risk youth through the THRIVE program. The court is also expanding services with a new computer lab set to open next month.

“It helps us to be able to provide instruction to kids getting GEDs, parents wanting GEDs, as well as we provide learning loss instruction to kids enrolled in Richmond County who may need remediation in math and reading,” Armistad said.

A gang prevention expert will meet with the juvenile court team to provide recommendations on how the grant money should be spent.

Bias said success will be measured by fewer teens in courtrooms and more in classrooms.

“We are meant to rehabilitate not to punish and we want to help these parents get kids on track so we can see a better Augusta for everyone,” Bias said.

Source link

Augusta, GA

AU to cut ribbon on new Student Health Services building

Published

18 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

AU to cut ribbon on new Student Health Services building

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta University is set to cut the ribbon on a new Student Health Services building on Friday.

The ribbon cutting will be held at 2:30 p.m. at 1465 Laney Walker Boulevard in Augusta.

The event will showcase the field of college health and the role the services have on students’ personal development and academic success.

The clinic relocated to the new space last month to make way for AU’s advanced research and clinical innovation, according to officials.

At the event, there will also be snacks, interactive games and clinic tours.

Source link

Augusta, GA

Law enforcement converges on home in west Augusta

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Law enforcement converges on home in west Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – There was a large law enforcement presence Thursday morning at a home in west Augusta near Fort Gordon.

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force were in the area attempting to find a suspect, according to deputies.

Witnesses said around 11:25 a.m. that officers had been surrounding a home at Harper-Franklin Avenue and Covington Court.

That’s in a neighborhood of mostly two-story brick-fronted homes built in the past three or four years just east of Jimmie Dyess Parkway and a couple of blocks north of Gordon Highway.

As noon approached, law enforcement had left.

But a Facebook post from earlier did show a large presence,including marked and unmarked cars, and officers all around the house. A witness said police dogs were on the scene, as well.

News 12 has reached out to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office for information.

Source link