The same gun was used in separate killings of two homeless men as they slept on the streets of Atlanta last month, police said. But the lead detective handling the investigation into the men’s deaths said Wednesday that the firearm in question is one not typically at the center of crime scenes.
Dorian Jenkins was found dead Nov. 23, wrapped in a blanket on a sidewalk at the intersection of Courtland Street and Ralph McGill Boulevard. Three days later, authorities found the body of Tommy Mims, also known as "Can Man," partially wrapped in a blanket on Whitehall Street near Northside Drive.
The bullets used in both shootings, .45 COLT 200-grain JHP, haven’t been manufactured since 2010. According to Atlanta Homicide Detective David Quinn, they were fired either by a Taurus “Judge” or a Smith & Wesson “Governor” - both are .45/.410 revolvers. “Target shooters and home defenders like this gun. We don’t see this gun on our crime scenes on a normal basis,” Quinn said in a Wednesday afternoon press conference. “We usually see the automatic weapons that eject the shell casings once the bullet is spent.”
Jenkins was shot five times, Quinn said, while Mims was hit by seven bullets. The seven bullets that went into Mims revealed a troubling fact.
“These guns have a capacity of five or six rounds. In Tommy Mims’ case, our second victim, someone had to reload the gun in order to get seven rounds in him,” Quinn said.
Few connections in ‘evil’ shootings
The crimes scenes were virtually identical. The victims likely killed in the early morning hours before rush hour. But Quinn said investigators haven’t been able to find much else to connect the two victims.
Both men, he added, were homeless and likely frequented that corridor between northeast Atlanta where the city’s missions and outreach centers are, and the west end where a lot of the recycling areas are. Police do not know if the two knew one another, but they may have known each other in passing.
Jenkins was discovered by teenagers from an outreach group that frequently assisted in the area. They found his body and alerted police.
The recycling center was key in the discovery of Mims’ body. Quinn said Mims would usually make two trips to the recycling center before noon each day to get money for his daily activities. The disruption of that routine had folks asking questions.
“People just thought [Mims] was sleeping. One guy actually spoke to him, not knowing he was deceased,” Quinn said. “It wasn’t until he didn’t come to the recycling bin that someone actually jumped up and said, ‘We should go check on him,’ because he was out in the open.
Investigators have not been able to identify a potential shooter. So far, only two witnesses have been able to give a similar description – an individual dressed in all black in a hooded sweatshirt and dark clothing.
Quinn called the individual responsible for the shootings “evil.”
“I’m saying ‘evil’ because it’s sinister - there was nothing to gain from it monetarily,” he said. “A lot of our shootings involve robbery. A lot of our shootings involve someone making good on an old debt or some kind of revenge factor.
“This factor is sleeping people wrapped in their bedding for the evening, and we believe the shooter couldn’t even see his target, because when we got there, these guys were wrapped up so well you couldn’t even tell they were victims of a shooting until we actually got them to a place where we could examine them.”
Police are asking homeless in the city to aim to stay close to one another, especially when sleeping, until authorities can close the case on these recent shootings.
Detectives are asking anyone with information on these cases to call Crime Stoppers at 404-557-TIPS, visit www.crimestoppersatlanta.org or text CSA and the tip to CRIMES (274637). Crime Stoppers tipsters can remain anonymous and may receive up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment.
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