Authorities in northeast Georgia are looking for a man who they say shot and killed another man during a dispute over a stolen car.
Asa Terrell Wilbanks, 27, is wanted on a murder charge in connection with the incident, which happened Sunday at a home in Eastanollee, according to Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley.
His brother, Josh Wilbanks, is wanted for questioning in the death, but charges have not been filed against him.
Deputies went to the Wilbanks brothers’ home on Hayes Wilbanks Road after the victim’s girlfriend reported a shooting. When they arrived, they found a man unconscious in the driveway, Shirley said.
The deputies checked the man’s vitals and determined he was dead. His name has not been released.
The man’s girlfriend told officials his car had been stolen on Dec. 5. After he received information that one of the Wilbanks brothers might have stolen it, he went to confront them, Shirley said.
An argument broke out between the man and Josh Wilbanks, Shirley said. At some point, Asa Wilbanks retrieved a long gun and shot the man, he said.
The man was hit in the stomach and in the back of the upper neck.
Both of the Wilbanks brothers left the scene of the shooting, Shirley said. The Stephens sheriff’s office obtained a warrant accusing Asa Wilbanks of murder and contacted the GBI and U.S. Marshals Service for help in the investigation.
Asa Wilbanks was previously convicted of burglary, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and theft by receiving stolen property, according to Georgia Department of Corrections records. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2009, and was released on parole in 2017.
Asa Wilbanks is described as being about 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 200 pounds with brown hair. He was last seen around Hayes Wilbanks Road driving a red Pontiac G6.
Shirley said Asa Wilbanks is not believed to be in Stephens County. Officials have leads as to where he might be and are searching for him in other counties, he said.
No description of Josh Wilbanks was provided.
Anyone with information about the Wilbanks brothers’ whereabouts is urged to call the sheriff’s office at 706-779-3911.
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