2 arrested for toddler’s shooting death
Nearly six months after a 2-year-old girl was shot to death as she slept, Atlanta police have arrested the two brothers accused in the killing.
Montez Thompkins, 21, and Jeremy Jemell Thompkins, 23, were arrested Wednesday night and transported to the Fulton County jail, Officer John Chafee with Atlanta police said.
Both men waived their first appearance before a Fulton magistrate judge late Thursday morning and will remain jailed without bond until their next court date, jail spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan said.
Arrest warrants were issued for the pair Tuesday and the Atlanta Fugitive Unit located and apprehended both suspects Wednesday in DeKalb County, Chafee said. Police declined late Wednesday to release further details about the investigation that led to the arrests.
The brothers were charged with murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and reckless conduct for the Nov. 3 shootings that killed Ty-Teyanna Motley and injured her one-year-old brother, Isaiah, police said. Ty-Teyanna and Isaiah were sleeping in a bed with their grandmother when shots were fired around 1:40 a.m. through the front door of the family's home on Polar Rock Place.
Ty-Teyanna was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her brother was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston in stable but critical condition.
Hours after the children were shot, family members pleaded for the public’s help in finding those responsible.
“Someone must know something,” the children’s grandfather, Tommy Wood, told The AJC at the time. “They need to find out who did this to this baby.”
The children’s family could not be reached Wednesday night regarding news of the arrests.
Montrez Thompkins is currently facing theft charges in an unrelated case, DeKalb County court records show. Jeremy Thompkins was given 12 months of probation in November 2011 after pleading guilty to carrying a concealed weapon, records show.
