The surveillance camera photos aren’t the clearest. But police in Gwinnett County hope they’ll help someone identify the man accused of killing a Wal-Mart security guard and then driving away.
Investigators believe a man was attempting to steal three flat-screen televisions shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday at the Lilburn store on U.S. 29. When two security guards approached the man, he pulled out a gun and fired, killing one of the guards, Lilburn police Capt. Thomas Bardugon said.
The suspect didn’t get away with the TVs, but he left the store driving an older model, red four-door sedan, police said. The search continued Monday afternoon for the man, described as being 5-feet-9 inches tall, having a medium build and a bald or shaved head. He was seen wearing a gray denim button down shirt and dark pants.
Investigators had received possible tips to the man’s identity, Bardugon said. But they had not determined Monday what prompted the man to shoot, killing 25-year-old Jaseramie Dion “JD” Ferguson.
“We don’t know,” Bardugon told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “You never know what someone is thinking.”
Ferguson, a married father of three, had worked at the store seven months when he was shot. He was taken by ambulance to Gwinnett Medical Center, where he died from his injuries, according to police. Ferguson’s death is the first homicide of the year for Lilburn, which had two homicides reported in 2015.
Wal-Mart security guards are not law enforcement officers and do not carry weapons, a company spokesman said Monday. Some stores do employ off-duty officers, but the Lilburn store did not, Wal-Mart spokesman Brian Nick said.
“We have very few calls there,” Bardugon said.
Anyone with information on the suspect’s identity is asked to contact Lilburn police at 770-921-2211 or Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477.
In addition to his wife, Tiana, Ferguson is survived by the couple's 1-year-old son, Jordan, and daughters Aryana, 3, and Ava, 3 months. A Go Fund Me page was set up to assist the family.
— Staff writer Lauren Foreman contributed to this report.
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