A barrage of gunfire outside of Eatonton’s new Waffle House Monday caused quite the chaos, but Eatonton police officers were quickly on hand securing the scene.
No one was injured, and one arrest was made. According to Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell, the investigation remains active.
Ironically, another shooting happened two hours later at the Waffle House in Milledgeville. Cardwell said he does not believe the two shootings are related, although some of the same people were at both places during each incident.
Eatonton shooting
Eatonton Police Officer Jeremy McClure was on routine patrol a few minutes before 1 a.m. Monday when he saw a large crowd gathered at the Jet Food Store #44 at the intersection of Gray Road and U.S. Hwy. 441.
“But the Jet was closed because they started closing at 11:00 (p.m.) because of incidents like this,” Cardwell said. “So, McClure ran them off the property.”
According to the police chief, the crowd moved across Gray Road into the parking lots of Walmart and Waffle House, so McClure parked in Zaxby’s parking lot so he could keep an eye on both places.
Cardwell said that the Waffle House was busy with many cars and people in the parking lot and standing room only inside “because a lot of folks were leaving clubs and going to eat.”
A small crowd of approximately 30 people stood at the bottom of the Waffle House driveway. At 1:02 a.m., a gunshot was heard, and smoke from the gun was seen rising in the sky behind the crowd near Zaxby’s.
“I don’t know which direction they were firing, but as soon as that one shot went off, the chaos started, and people were running everywhere, pulling out guns, firing gunshots,” Cardwell described. “We see one individual, then three or four, running off and firing back into the crowd. Everybody’s got a gun. It’s surprising to me there weren’t a lot of victims.”
In his report of the incident, McClure noted that when he heard the gunshot, he notified the radio dispatcher to call for backup and pulled out his department-issued rifle.
“I observed multiple individuals running from the area of Waffle House; some of them were firing in the air,” he reported. “I made it to the area between Zaxby’s and Waffle House when I heard gunfire coming past me. I went prone and waited for them to stop firing before I moved down towards the Waffle House to check for any injured persons. Dispatch notified me that there were possible shooters inside the Waffle House as I got closer, so I went inside the Waffle House and made sure everyone got out safely. I did not observe any injured people.”
The constant rapid gunfire continued for approximately 20 seconds on the recordings, and Cardwell said police gathered about 30 shell casings from the scene so far, including one lodged into the exterior wall of the Zaxby’s building. At least two cars were hit by bullets as well, he said. The shell casings are 9 mm from handguns and .223s from automatic rifles.
Cardwell said the restaurant manager provided him immediate access to the security camera footage from both outside and inside the restaurant.
“I know most everyone in Eatonton, but I didn’t recognize anybody in the video,” he said. “So I called Maj. Linc Boyer from Milledgeville Police Department.”
Meanwhile, Cardwell used the security camera footage to obtain a description of the car the shooter drove off in and entered the information into the city’s and county’s Flock Street Camera System.
“Our Flock cameras came in handy, and we found out whose car it was,” he said.
The car belonged to a person in Greene County, so Cardwell contacted Greene County authorities. He and Officer Hargrove Jones went to Greene County Sunday and, along with assistance from the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, arrested a 16-year-old male who cannot be identified because he is a juvenile.
The teen was the driver of the vehicle the shooter was in, Cardwell emphasized. The juvenile was charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct. Cardwell said he has warrants for the shooter’s arrest but has not found him yet. The shooter is not a juvenile, he said.
While in Greene County, they also talked to other witnesses from the scene, who told them the first gunshot was fired during an argument between two young women.
“I understood they’d been at a party in Hancock, but I can’t confirm that because I don’t know for sure,” Cardwell added.
Major Boyer was on his way to Eatonton to help Cardwell identify people in the security camera footage when he received a call. He had to turn around and go back to Milledgeville because, by then, another shooting had taken place at a Waffle House there.
Milledgeville shooting
Just before 3:20 a.m. Monday, a shooting occurred at the Waffle House at 1683 North Columbia Street, Milledgeville, and one man was shot.
Milledgeville Police Department Maj. Brandon Sellers identified the victim as Kenneth Earl Jordan, 27, of Milledgeville, who had been shot in the shoulder area of his chest. Ironically, he was taken to the emergency department of Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin Hospital by four men who had been at the Waffle House in Eatonton during that shooting.
“Boyer called me and asked if there was a silver SUV at our shooting, and I said yes,” Cardwell explained. “And he said ‘well, you need to come to Baldwin County ER because I think we have your guys down here.”
Cardwell said he went to the hospital and talked to the victim and the other four men.
“The way they told it, they said they were at the Eatonton Waffle House, but they didn’t do any shooting,” he said. “They said they left and just drove up (to Milledgeville Waffle House), and this guy was laying on the ground, and they picked him up and took him to the ER. Of course, the contents of their car caused them to get some charges.”
Sellers said a search of the SUV revealed four weapons, two of which had been reported stolen.
Jeremiah Larone James, 18, of Gordon; Javon Quentin Robinson, 20, of Milledgeville; Tyreon Terrell Simmons, 18, of Milledgeville; and Johnny Lee Gilmore, 25, or Milledgeville, were each charged with one count of theft by receiving stolen property. A law enforcement officer charged Gilmore with one count of obstruction.
All four were arrested at the Atrium Hospital and are being held in the Baldwin County Law Enforcement Center jail. Chief Cardwell said no charges have been filed against any of those men about the shooting in Eatonton, “but I am still investigating them.”
Regarding the shooter of the Milledgeville incident, Sellers said no one has been arrested.
“He has cooperated with the investigation, and we believe the shooting was the result of self-defense,” he explained, noting both men said they had been arguing earlier that weekend.
Cardwell said he continues to work with Milledgeville, Greene, and Putnam County authorities to identify people in the security camera videos, and more charges or arrests may be forthcoming.
“Major Boyer, MPD Sgt. Brandon Crawford, Putnam County Sheriff’s Lt. Harry Luke, and Sheriff Howard Sills are all a big help,” he said. “I want the message out that we are tired of this kind of thing in Eatonton and won’t tolerate it. People can’t even go out to eat late at night anymore and feel safe because bullets don’t have a name on them.”
Cardwell requests anyone with information regarding the shooting to call him at 706-485-3551 or 478-288-3386.