Milledgeville house raided
Jun. 7—A woman and a teen have been arrested on multiple counts of aggravated assault stemming from a weekend shootout involving two rival gangs from Milledgeville.
The shootings happened in the parking lot of a business in downtown Eatonton early Sunday, local authorities say.
No one reportedly was injured in what Putnam County Sheriff Howard R. Sills described as a "massive" shootout that involved between 35 and 40 gunshots.
The suspects were taken into custody at a large brick home at the intersection of Pennington Road and Peachtree Avenue in Milledgeville shortly after daybreak Tuesday. The suspects included Miyah Angelo Pittman, 19, of the 1000 block of Ga. Highway 49, Milledgeville; and Jaquavious Draymon Solomon, 17, of the 200 block of Pennington Road, Milledgeville.
They each are charged with three counts of aggravated assault and face additional criminal charges.
The raid on the house and subsequent arrests resulted from information learned by Sills and Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell from officers with the Milledgeville Police Department during the investigation. It has kept law enforcement officers busy in Eatonton and Putnam since the gang shooting about 2 a.m. Sunday.
The raid on the house where at least one of the two suspects lived was spearheaded by Cardwell and Sills. It included law enforcement officers from the Milledgeville Police Department, Baldwin County Sheriff's Office, Eatonton Police Department, Putnam County Sheriff's Office, Macon-Bibb County Sheriff's K-9 teams, and officers with the Georgia Department of Community Supervision.
Sunday's shooting happened in the parking lot of the Shell Food Mart on Sumter Street in Eatonton.
Security video at the convenience store was viewed by authorities shortly after rival gang members exchanged gunfire.
Cardwell said there were about 10 people standing in front of the business when members of rival gangs walked by and began shooting out windows of vehicles.
Officers found spent shell casings belonging to several guns.
The police chief said rounds from a 9mm pistol, Glock .40-caliber handgun, and a .223-caliber gun were all found scattered about.
Cardwell said the two suspects taken into custody Tuesday in the raid were previously identified as being involved in the shooting.
"When I first watched the store video, I didn't know anybody, so I figured they were from Milledgeville," Cardwell said.
The police chief said he phoned the Milledgeville Police Department and officers went to the store in Eatonton where the gunfire erupted and viewed the store video.
Sgt. Brandon Crawford with the Milledgeville Police Department recognized the shooting suspects, Cardwell said.
Pittman and Solomon were taken from Milledgeville to Eatonton where they were incarcerated in the Putnam County Jail.
"We are still looking for two more suspects in connection with the gang shooting," Cardwell said.
Authorities did not specifically say what items, if any, they took from the scene as evidence.
A Hyundai Sonata that had been at the house was impounded as evidence by authorities.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Eatonton Police Department at 706-485-3551 or the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 706-485-8557.