VALDOSTA — No arrests have been made in any of three unrelated shooting incidents that occurred during the July 4 holiday weekend, one of which resulted in the death of a Brooks County man.



Fatal shooting

Valdosta Police Cmdr. Eugene Bell said Monday that the Valdosta Police Department continues investigating an early Sunday morning shooting at Stone Creek Apartments, 1197 Melody Lane, which claimed the life of 24-year-old Jermaine Mitchell.

At approximately 1:30 a.m., Valdosta police were dispatched to the apartment complex to find Mitchell dead inside a vehicle in the complex parking lot, as well as an injured victim, Desmond Jones, near one of the apartment buildings. Both men suffered multiple gunshot wounds to their bodies, Bell said.

Jones was given first aid and transported to an area hospital. Bell said Monday that when he last checked, Jones was still being treated for his gunshot wounds and is expected to survive.

Police investigators and crime-scene technicians have collected evidence from the Melody Lane location and from Jones at the hospital, said Valdosta Police Lt. Bobbi McGraw. The investigation is being worked as a homicide-aggravated assault.

Jermaine Mitchell was a resident of Quitman. He was educated at Brooks County Schools and played football for the Brooks County Trojans while in high school.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete for Mitchell, but are being handled by Stevens-McGhee Funeral Home in Quitman.



Woman injured

While detectives continue following up on leads, arrests have yet to be made in connection with a shooting that left a Valdosta woman injured outside of a South Patterson Street nightclub early Sunday morning.

At approximately 1:55 a.m., a shooting occurred near The House, a 500 S. Patterson St. nightclub, Lt. McGraw said.

“Witnesses described an argument breaking out in an area outside of the business between several males, and gunshots were fired,” McGraw said. “A Valdosta resident, Mattie Sims, received a gunshot wound to an extremity.”

Sims isn’t believed to have been involved in the argument.

She was taken to South Georgia Medical Center where she was treated and released, McGraw said.



Man shot in leg

An early morning shooting near a local restaurant on Lake Park Road left one man shot in the leg.

At approximately 2:50 a.m., Anthony Tong, 24, arrived at South Georgia Medical Center to be treated for a gunshot wound in his leg.

“Valdosta Police Department officers responded to the hospital and spoke with Tong who stated he received the gunshot wound while in the parking lot of Andy’s Wings and Things,” McGraw said.

Police also went to the parking lot of the establishment, where they spoke to several people.

“It appears that a crowd was outside of the business when several shots went off with one striking Tong,” McGraw said.

No arrests had been reported Sunday. Police are following leads to identify the offender in this aggravated assault case.

Tong said Monday that he remains injured from the gunshot wound to his leg. The victim indicated that after he arrived at SGMC, medical personnel did an X-ray on his leg and cleaned the wound. However, Tong said he was released with the bullet still in his leg.

“They said they were sending me home because I was stable and the wound did not appear to be life-threatening,” Tong said. “Since I was in the emergency room and the bullet did not seem to pose a serious threat to my well-being, they referred me to a doctor who I was supposed to arrange an appointment with Monday morning.”

Tong said Monday that he made at least two attempts to schedule an appointment to get the bullet removed but was told the doctor was unavailable. He said he was told that the doctor had to be available for him to schedule an appointment.

In response, South Georgia Medical Center CEO James McGahee released the following statement: “By federal law, every patient who presents or is delivered to an emergency room has to be timely triaged and then appropriately medically assessed to determine if they have a life-threatening illness or injury. If so, they are to be treated by the proper specialists on call for the emergency room, assuming a proper specialist has privileges at the hospital and is currently on call. If a patient does not have a life-threatening illness or injury, the emergency room physician may treat the patient if he has the necessary training, and if the patient so desires; or the ER may arrange for the patient to be seen in a timely manner by a physician at the physician’s office. Patients frequently prefer to be seen by the physician of their choice. That is their prerogative.”

The three shooting cases are considered to be unrelated to one another.

Police ask anyone with information regarding these cases to contact Valdosta Police Department Investigations Unit, (229) 293-3145; or to call anonymously on the crime-tip line, (229) 293-3091.