A 40-year-old Madison man was wounded during a homecoming celebration at Butler-Baker School in Eatonton early Saturday.
Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell said the man was shot in one of two shootings that happened around 1 a.m. The shooter turned himself in to authorities Tuesday at 5 p.m., under an arrangement between Cardwell and the shooter’s attorney.
Clayton Besley, 34, of Monticello, is facing charges related to aggravated assault.
Cardwell said officers responding to the call had difficulty getting to the scene because traffic was “at a standstill” around the historic school. The police chief said all the roads leading to the school were blocked with cars, estimating that more than 1,500 people were there.
“We finally had just to get out and walk because we couldn’t move our cars,” he said of himself and other responding law enforcement officers.
Officer Chad Burket was the first to arrive, and Cardwell was behind him. People at the scene pointed toward the residential neighborhood across New Street and told them the shooter had run into that neighborhood on Alice Walker Drive.
“When Officer Burket and I got out of our vehicles, gunfire rang out over our heads,” Cardwell said.
Those gunshots were coming from the neighborhood, which was a different location for the first shooting, which happened just past the front of the school, according to Cardwell.
Burket, who had seen muzzle flashing, ran into the neighborhood looking for the shooter. Cardwell said Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, Detective Lt. Harry Luke, PCSO Sgt. Justin Brock, and Georgia Dept. of Corrections Officer Robert Keim also responded to help him secure the scene and find the shooter.
“I really appreciate what they did,” Cardwell said. “They worked nonstop all night to help me work that scene and identify the suspect.”
Meanwhile, Cardwell went to the shooting victim, Martrel Williams, 40, of Madison, who had been shot in his right thigh. The bullet went through his thigh and out the other side. Cardwell said Putnam County Emergency Medical Services also had trouble getting to the victim due to the crowd's commotion.
Williams was later flown by medical helicopter to Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center for treatment. He was released Saturday and is recuperating at home.
From witnesses at the scene and the victim the next day, Cardwell and other investigators learned the shooting was the result of an argument that turned physical. The victim had a tent set up at the homecoming party and had gone to get his GMC Yukon to pack up the tent and leave. The victim said the shooter was in front of the vehicle as he tried to move it. The shooter pulled out a handgun, and the victim got out of his GMC and tried to take the gun.
During the scuffle, the gun was fired. One bullet hit the victim, and the other hit the door of the Yukon.
“The victim and the shooter’s family members’ stories are identical except regarding the details of what happened when the shooter was in front of the Yukon,” Cardwell said. “So, we’re still investigating that.”
Cardwell said the homecoming party began about 6 p.m. Friday, and officers had responded there to several calls throughout the night until the shootings happened and the celebration ended.