UPDATED FOR PRINT — From N. Fayette pool party to murder charge — Atlanta felon, 18, charged with killing 1, wounding 4 others in bullet spray
An 18-year-old murder suspect, Atlanta resident Terrence Kyreef Montgomery, Jr., is in the Fayette County Jail today awaiting a preliminary hearing in Magistrate Court in July.
Montgomery was arrested June 19 for the murder of Stockbridge resident Wali Clanton and the gunshot injuries to four others on June 13 while attending a June 13 pool party at a residence on Ga. Highway 279 in north Fayette County. Authorities have said more than 200 youths showed up to party at the private residence.
Fayette County Sheriff Barry Babb said it would be unlikely that Montgomery would be able to bond out through Fayette County Superior Court given the charges against him.
“The main priority was to get the man who killed our victim,” Babb said outside the sheriff’s office Friday afternoon after Montgomery was questioned by detectives and then transported to jail.
At left, below, Stockbridge resident Wali Clanton in a 2014 graduation photo.
Montgomery, 18, was charged with felony murder, malice murder, four counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to Babb.
Montgomery had a first-appearance hearing before Magistrate Judge Lloyd Black on June 20. He is currently scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Magistrate Court on July 14.
District Attorney Scott Ballard said any potential bond on a charge of murder can only be decided by Superior Court Judge Christopher Edwards, who has been assigned to the case.
Babb on Tuesday confirmed that Montgomery does have an attorney.
Montgomery was arrested without incident by members of the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Task Force after warrants were executed at a residence in Atlanta, said Babb, adding that an investigator with the sheriff’s office serves on the task force.
Babb said no other information will be forthcoming because there are areas of the investigation that need to be wrapped-up.
Babb praised the non-stop efforts of investigators over the past week. Detective and case agent Clint Patton partnered with Detective Charles Owens, Babb said, noting that sheriff’s staff worked tirelessly on the case.
“We had investigators sleeping in the office with their bedrolls,” Babb said of the effort.
Babb said deputies at 11:51 p.m. on June 13 responded to the 600 block of Ga. Highway 279 in north Fayette County to a person shot call at a residence. It was at that residence that a party with more than 200 attending had broken up. The shootings occurred at the end of the driveway.
Clanton, 19, sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and was transported to Piedmont Fayette Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Four others sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds and were transported to Atlanta area hospitals, Babb said, adding that three of the victims were male and one was female. All the victims were age 21 and none were residents of Fayette County.
The large attendance at the party was attributed, in part, to having been advertised on social media sites.
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Earlier online version —
Atlanta resident Terrence Kyreef Montgomery, Jr., was arrested June 19 for the murder of Stockbridge resident Wali Clanton and the gunshot injuries to four others on June 13 at a pool party at a residence on Ga. Highway 279 in north Fayette County.
“The main priority was to get the man who killed our victim,” Babb said outside the sheriff’s office Friday afternoon.
Montgomery, 18, was charged with felony murder, malice murder, four counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to Sheriff Barry Babb.
Montgomery was arrested without incident by members of the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Task Force after warrants were executed at a residence in Atlanta, said Babb, adding that an investigator with the sheriff’s office serves on the task force.
Babb said no other information will be forthcoming because there are areas of the investigation that need to be wrapped-up.
Babb praised the non-stop efforts of investigators over the past week. Detective and case agent Clint Patton partnered with Detective Charles Owens, Babb said, noting that sheriff’s staff worked tirelessly on the case.
“We had investigators sleeping in the office with their bedrolls,” Babb said of the effort.
Babb said deputies at 11:51 p.m. on June 13 responded to the 600 block of Ga. Highway 279 in north Fayette County to a person shot call at a residence. It was at that residence that a party with more than 200 attending had broken up. The shootings occurred at the end of the driveway.
Clanton, 19, sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and was transported to Piedmont Fayette Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Four others sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds and were transported to Atlanta area hospitals, Babb said, adding that three of the victims were male and one was female. All the victims were age 21 and none were residents of Fayette County.
The large attendance at the party was attributed, in part, to having been advertised on social media sites.
