Family of slain man seeks justice following SWAT arrest at Clayton home
A man was taken into custody Wednesday morning after the discovery of a body on the front lawn of his Clayton County home led to a stalemate with a SWAT team.
Police arrested the man at a home on Redland Drive near Jonesboro shortly before 10 a.m., authorities confirmed. The victim’s body was located in the yard of the home prior to the SWAT incident, according to police.
Authorities have not identified the arrested man or released the name of the victim. On Friday, an attorney for the victim’s family identified him as 22-year-old Bradley May.
“Bradley was an intelligent, charismatic young man who had a lifetime of potential ahead of him,” his family said in a statement. “He was a new father who is now deprived of creating precious memories with his infant son and now Bradley has been suddenly taken away from all of us. The family is shocked and deeply saddened to learn of his tragic passing on Wednesday.”
According to Clayton County police, officers were looking for additional victims about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday when a man came to the window. They assembled a SWAT team to negotiate with him when he barricaded himself inside the home and refused to come out, Capt. Steven Palmer told reporters at the scene shortly after the arrest.
Photos from the scene showed an armored vehicle and a crisis negotiator outside of the house.
Palmer said an officer entered the home through the back door during the negotiations and brought the suspect out unharmed. Authorities are working to determine if the suspect was involved in the victim’s death.
“At this time, it is still under investigation,” Palmer said. “We are unsure of his involvement with this incident, but it was in front of his residence at the front door.”
Police said the victim lived in a home a few doors away from where he was killed. The weapon involved has not been found.
Neighbors told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the victim’s body might have been in the yard since Tuesday night. Perry Richardson said he heard one shot about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, but he initially didn’t think much of it.
“Our neighbor that makes guns — he’s an old veteran — he comes out and shoots his guns all the time,” he said.
However, in the morning he got a call from another neighbor saying a body was lying in a nearby yard.
May’s family said they would cooperate with Clayton County police and is asking anyone with information to come forward.
“We respect the police investigation and will continue to pray that his murderer will be convicted, and we will demand justice will be brought to the individual that has committed this horrific crime,” the family said in the statement.
About the Authors
Asia Simone Burns is a watchdog reporter for the AJC. Burns was formerly an intern in AJC’s newsroom and now writes about crime. She is a graduate of Samford University and has previously reported for NPR and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station.
John Spink is a multi-platform photojournalist with the breaking news team. He provides compelling photos, video and audio from breaking news events for the AJC and media partners WSB Channel 2 Action News & WSB Radio
