Teen killed in SW Atlanta shooting over cellphone, warrant says
In early January, police blocked off a section of a southwest Atlanta neighborhood for hours as they searched for a suspect wanted in a teenager’s shooting death. However, no one was arrested.
On Saturday, police said the suspect, Markius Gillespie, turned himself in at the Fulton County Jail. The 22-year-old is facing charges of murder, aggravated assault and theft by taking, according to authorities.
Gillespie was wanted in connection with the Jan. 6 homicide in the city’s West End neighborhood.
Officers were called to a home on Holderness Street just before 3 p.m. that day and found 19-year-old Ashton Jackson unresponsive after being shot once. He was later pronounced dead by medical personnel.
According to Gillespie’s arrest warrant, Jackson and a female friend went to a residence on Holderness Street to get another woman’s cellphone that had been taken by Gillespie, who was her boyfriend at the time.
But when they arrived, the friend told police Gillespie “fired rounds into the air” and toward the street, where Jackson and his friend were standing, the warrant stated. At least one round struck Jackson in the head, police said.
The friend, who The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is not naming, said Gillespie pointed a gun at her and told her to run away, the warrant stated. Gillespie then grabbed Jackson’s gun that had fallen to the ground after the shooting, the warrant added.
But she told police that Jackson never pulled it out during the incident, according to authorities.
She eventually fled the area and identified Gillespie from a photograph. The other woman, whose cellphone Jackson and his friend were trying to get back, said Gillespie had taken it without permission, the warrant stated.
Last week, police shared photos of Gillespie in hopes of locating him. No further details have been released by police about the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Anyone with more information is asked to contact Atlanta police. Tipsters can remain anonymous by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
