A Paulding County homeowner was arrested Sunday after fatally shooting his friend following an argument, authorities said.
David Ayers May, 47, is accused of shooting Dane Michael Patrick Kellum, 38, in his residence in the 100 block of Mill Point Drive in Dallas after a verbal exchange escalated during a night of partying Saturday, according to the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office.
“As the verbal altercation between Kellum and May became more heated, May reportedly retrieved a pistol and shot Kellum in the head, which subsequently killed him,” sheriff’s office spokesman Sgt. Ashley Henson said in a news release.
The shooting death was one of two in Paulding County over the weekend as another man, Joshua Mitchell, 37, died after being shot several times Saturday night.
Kellum went to May’s home Saturday evening with a group of friends, according to the sheriff’s office. The argument occurred at around 1:15 a.m., “in the midst of an evening of reported heavy drinking by all of the parties.”
After receiving a 911 call, deputies entered the home, where Kellum’s body was “discovered beyond help,” according to the release.
May was taken into custody without incident, the sheriff’s office said. He was charged with murder and aggravated assault and is being held at the Paulding jail without bond.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the sheriff’s office’s tip line at (770) 443-3047.
Mitchell’s death is being investigated by Paulding detectives and the GBI, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies found him lying in the driveway in the 500 block of Warrenton Drive in Douglasville with multiple gunshot wounds.
His body was taken to the GBI Crime Lab, where an autopsy is scheduled to be performed later this week.
There are no suspects or potential motives at this time, authorities said.
