A DeKalb County man was arrested Friday and charged with the shooting death of a 20-year-old at a house party late Wednesday near Snellville.
Damien Kinard Reddick, 19, of Lithonia, is accused of shooting Cory Johnson outside a home in the 4200 block of Trotters Way Lane, near Bethany Church Road, according to Gwinnett County police spokesman Cpl. Jake Smith. Johnson was shot and killed while trying to prevent other party-goers from getting hurt, according to his family.
About 50 college-age people were at the party, which spilled to the backyard. What was supposed to be a gathering of friends turned tragic when uninvited guests arrived, Johnson's family said. Neighbors told the AJC Thursday they heard yelling and screaming just before shots were fired around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Reddick faces murder and aggravated assault charges, police said. He was booked into the Gwinnett County jail shortly after 5 p.m. and was being held Friday night without bond.
Johnson's mother told the AJC late Friday her son was trying to prevent others from getting hurt when he was shot in the back. The victim's friends have described a chaotic scene that started with two girls fighting and escalated, Stephanie Ponteau told the AJC.
"I am devastated that my son’s life was taken," Ponteau said. "But I’m truly grateful he was trying to do the right thing."
The alleged shooter punched a female and then pointed a gun at one of Johnson's friends, Ponteau said. Johnson then punched the alleged shooter, she said.
"Cory just couldn’t stand there and let this guy hit a girl," Ponteau said. "He (the suspect) fell to the ground and everybody started running, including Cory."
When the suspect with the gun stood up, he shot Johnson in the back, Ponteau said. Johnson did not know the man accused of killing him.
Johnson attended Shiloh High School and the National Guard Youth Challenge Academy and was a member of the Class of 2008, Ponteau said. He had recently enrolled at the Everest Institute and planned to study engineering, his mother said.
"He was a young man that was making decisions about what he wanted to do, and acting on it," Ponteau said.
Johnson would have turned 21 on Jan. 6. Instead of a birthday celebration, family and friends will gather that day for a wake, Ponteau said. Funeral arrangements had not been finalized late Friday.
Reddick has a criminal history that includes arrests in Rockdale County, Smith said. He was arrested by the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office in June 2010 on drug offenses, according to jail records published in the Rockdale Citizen.
In a separate incident in August of that year, he was charged with attempting to elude a police officer, failure to obey traffic officer, and driving without headlights at night.
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