Milledgeville Police sorting through pair of southside shootings

Two separate shooting incidents were recorded around the Vinson Highway in as many days.

Similarities certainly were there. Each shooting occurred less than a mile apart. One was on Monday and the other on Tuesday. Both were between five o'clock and 6 o'clock in the afternoon, and both included the same rival gangs, according to investigators. 

Nevertheless, the two incidents "aren't directly related," according to Maj. Linc Boyer with the Milledgeville Police Department.

"We believe that it's the same two gangs that have been feuding recently, but the (two shootings) weren't directly related," he said.

Per usual, the MPD isn't receiving an overwhelmingly high amount of cooperation from the public.

"We had a bunch of people call (in the second shooting), but no one wanted to give us very much information," Boyer added.

In terms of that second shooting, it occurred on Tuesday afternoon on Caraker Avenue,  near its intersection with Jefferson Street. No arrests have been made, pending ballistics results.

"On Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at approximately 5:27 pm, patrol units from the Milledgeville Police Department responded to the area of South Jefferson Street and Caraker Avenue in reference to multiple calls of shots fired," according to an MPD press release.

Added the release: "While units were en route to the scene, they were advised a grey Nissan Maxima was leaving the scene of the shooting and had turned south onto Vinson Highway. A Milledgeville PD officer who was in the area observed a vehicle matching that description and was able to conduct a stop of the car on Broad Street near the intersection of Swint Avenue. 

"The four occupants in the vehicle stated they had just been shot at on Caraker Avenue and were fleeing the area for their safety. Officers located a firearm hidden on the rear passenger side floorboard of the vehicle. Detectives and officers also located several shell casings in the roadway at South Jefferson Street and Caraker Avenue.

"All four occupants of the grey sedan came to the police department, where they were interviewed by detectives."

The MPD took possession of the firearm from the gray Maxima as evidence, and the picture will become clearer once the results of the shell casings ballistics are returned from the GBI crime lab.

Shell casings from the shooting on Caraker Avenue were sent off to the GBI crime lab for ballistics testing.

On Monday, meanwhile, roughly four dozen shots rang out on Magnolia Avenue, located off of the Vinson Highway and near the old Southside school. Included were assault-style rifle rounds.

"Patrol officers arrived in the area and spoke to a homeowner who stated their home had been struck multiple times by gunfire," according to a press release. "Officers also noticed the neighbor’s vehicle had damage from gunfire. Multiple shell casings were located in the roadway in the 200 block of Magnolia Avenue."

Added the report: "Several witnesses reported seeing a white in color sedan leaving the area at a high rate of speed. The scene was secured, and detectives were notified."

Further investigation led the MPD to a specific vehicle, and that vehicle was spotted that following afternoon in Harrisburg during a massive canvas, one that included the MPD, the Georgia Department of Public Safety, the Georgia State Patrol and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Gang Task Force. 

A trooper spotted the vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. Antonio Williams, the passenger in the car, bolted from the car and took off on foot on Shiloh Avenue. The trooper then stopped his cruiser and began chasing Williams. The trooper, with assistance from K-9 Officer Duco, ultimately found Williams hiding under an abandoned mobile home on nearby Peacock Road.

Playing hide-and-seek with K-9 Officer is Duco is really hard, apparently.

Meanwhile, the driver also was taken into custody after his car was "boxed in" by a pair of law enforcement vehicles. The driver was identified as Nicholas Simpson, pictured above at left, who had no previous record at the county jail. He was charged with three counts of party to the crime of aggravated assault.

The passenger was identified as Antonio Williams, 22, who's been in and out of the county jail since he was 17. Williams was charged with three counts of aggravated assault, as well as one count each of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and criminal damage to property in the 1st degree. Williams, pictured above at right, most recently spent three-and-a-half months out on Old Monticello Road after being arrested for criminal trespass, possession of a sawed-off shotgun, sawed-off rifle, machine gun or other dangerous weapon in September 2023. 

Both shooting incidents are "active and ongoing investigations," according to the MPD. "If you have any information, please contact the Milledgeville Police Department at 478-414-4090 and request to speak with Detective Mcleroy. You can also call the MPD Tipline at 478-414-4413, or Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 478-762-2330."

^^^CLICK HERE for more