By Jessica Pope
The Valdosta Daily Times
ECHOLS COUNTY — A neighborhood dispute gone wrong resulted in the deaths of three men just moments before the clock tolled the start of Memorial Day.
At approximately 11:30 p.m. Sunday, a deputy with the Echols County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a residence on Lisa Circle, approximately 100 yards from its intersection with Tince Road, in regards to a complaint of loud music and shots fired, Sheriff Randy Courson said Monday. The occupants of the home in question were allegedly shooting off guns during a holiday celebration in their backyard, he added.
On the scene, the deputy addressed the excessive noise issue with the men and women involved, Courson said. While he was doing so, a verbal dispute occurred between at least one of the women and a next-door neighbor, whom The Times has identified as Joyce Corbett.
That dispute soon turned physical, the sheriff said.
As the deputy handled the situation between the women, Courson said, a man, whom The Times has identified as Billy Corbett, 67, pulled out a small-caliber handgun, fired on and fatally wounded two men — David Coody Jr., 35, and Chad Wiggins, age not known at press time, — from the residence under investigation for loud music.
The deputy then shot and killed Billy Corbett, Courson said.
Since the incident involves a law-enforcement shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called to conduct an investigation into this matter. As of press time, no charges have been filed. The deputy, who has not been identified, will remain on administrative leave with pay until the investigation has been completed as required, Courson said.
