In the early morning hours of April 5, 2022, a young man named Shalik Burkhead, aged 20, was shot and killed in Marietta, Georgia. The fatal incident occurred outside the DosBros Fresh Mexican Grill on Barrett Parkway, a detail that would later become a focal point of the investigation. What initially was portrayed by those involved as a tragic accident during the filming of a music video, soon unraveled into a narrative of intentional violence, according to prosecutors.
The initial
claim was that a rifle being used as a prop for a staged armed robbery scene in the music video had accidentally discharged, leading to Burkhead's death. However, this account was quickly challenged by law enforcement. Investigators pieced together a different story, aided by security camera footage from the area. The footage reportedly captured a group, including Burkhead and the alleged shooters, dancing with firearms. The video then allegedly showed two individuals, Terrence Jamal Speer and Antoine Bernard Malone, shoving a rifle into Burkhead's head on two separate occasions. Further footage reportedly showed Speer taking a gun from Burkhead before fleeing the scene with two others.
Following an investigation, both Terrence Jamal Speer, of Conyers, and Antoine Bernard Malone, of Union City, both 20 years old at the time, were arrested and faced a slew of serious charges. These included murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony. A third individual, 19-year-old Yahzier Saeed Hill, was also implicated and charged with making false statements and tampering with evidence.
During a probable cause hearing for Speer, a lead detective testified about the evidence gathered, including the revealing security footage. The judge presiding over the hearing determined that there was sufficient evidence for the case against Speer to move forward and subsequently denied him bond. Both Speer and Malone were later indicted by a Cobb County grand jury on charges of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, solidifying the prosecution's stance that Shalik Burkhead's death was no accident. Malone was noted in warrants as having a handgun in each hand during the incident.
