16-Year-Old Juvenile Arrested on Two Felony Charges, including Aggravated Assault

By Carol A. Gasser Moore

VALDOSTA, Lowndes County, Georgia – Valdosta Police Department (VPD) Chief Leslie Manahan has released information about an assault which occurred on Tuesday, August 13.  According to Valdosta Police Department both VPD officers and detectives responded to the 400 block of East Rogers Street.  Numerous citizens called E911 to report gunshots which ultimately lead to an investigation and an arrest of an unnamed 16-year-old juvenile, who is a Valdosta resident.  The juvenile was not named due to his juvenile status.

VPD officers arrived in the area in response to the E911 calls.  While walking to his car which was parked near a residence, located and took a report from a 22-year-old male.  The man described that as he was walking to his car, two unknown males walked toward him.  One of the males revealed a firearm and shot the gun in the 22 year-old man’s direction multiple times.

The VPD officer immediately took witness statements and investigated.  The evidence they collected at the scene, allowed the detectives to identify a 16-year-old male juvenile, as the person who had shot the firearm in the direction of the 22-year-old man.  This lead the detectives to obtain arrest warrants for the juvenile.  The warrants were for:

• aggravated assault (felony),
• possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (felony), and
• possession of a firearm by a minor (misdemeanor).

While not found immediately, the VPD have stated that on Tuesday, August 27, detectives found the juvenile hiding in an apartment that belonged to a relative.  That juvenile was taken into custody for his active arrest warrants without any incident.  The juvenile was detained at a Regional Youth Detention Center.

VPD Chief Leslie Manahan issued this statement, “At noon on a weekday, this juvenile shot a gun off in a reckless manner.  There were a lot of citizens walking around in the area, and we are thankful that no one was injured.  We appreciate the numerous tips that we received, that assisted our detectives in locating this offender.”

The Valdosta Police Department asks that if anyone has any further information on this case or any other cases, please contact the Valdosta Police Department Bureau of Investigative Services at 229-293-3145, the crime tip line at 229-293-3091, or file a tip online at www.valdostacity.com/police-department.