Suspect found guilty of killing bystander outside busy Augusta coffee shop

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A man has been convicted and sentenced in connection with a 2022 shooting that killed an innocent bystander on Washington Road

Julius Riddick Jr. was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the shooting that killed Reginald Johnson around noon Oct. 17, 2022, at a busy Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins location at 3024 Washington Road.

District Attorney Jared Williams said Riddick was angry over a failed bank scam, so he jumped out of his vehicle and started firing at an associate.

The associate was unharmed, but the gunfire killed Johnson.

A jury on Friday found him guilty on all counts of felony murder, and he was sentenced by Judge John Flythe.

Said DA Williams after the verdict, “Jarryd Brown and Keagan Waystack are two of the most talented attorneys in the state, and they prove it every time they step in a courtroom to do justice for victims. I’m grateful they choose to serve our community.”

Also originally charged in the case was John Lee Scarboro.

According to an arrest warrant for Scarboro, he and another suspect were shooting at each other while Johnson was in Scarboro’s car.

Earlier this week court records show under his name, “order to release material witness.”

He’s still listed as a Richmond County jail inmate being held for superior and state court.

The shooting happened at the beginning of an outbreak of deadly crime across the CSRA that’s now claimed around 200 lives in three years.

It’s affected communities large and small on both sides of the Savannah River, but Augusta has been hit especially hard.

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