In the early morning hours of March 2, 2022, the body of 34-year-old Santrell Wood was discovered on a sidewalk in front of a shopping center in Decatur, Georgia. A person on their way to work made the grim discovery at the Austin Plaza on Glenwood Road and immediately alerted the authorities. When DeKalb County police arrived at the intersection of Glenwood Road and Iris Lane shortly after 5 a.m., they found Mr.
Wood deceased from a gunshot wound.
Initially, investigators were faced with a challenging case as there were no witnesses to the shooting, and no one had called to report any gunfire. The lack of immediate leads meant that the motive behind the shooting was not immediately clear. For a time, Santrell Wood was listed as a John Doe until he was identified by the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office.
A significant breakthrough in the case came a week later. On March 8, 2022, 23-year-old Richard Hardon was arrested in Clayton County on an outstanding warrant for aggravated assault. Following his arrest, DeKalb County police identified Hardon as the suspect in the murder of Santrell Wood. In addition to the aggravated assault charge in Clayton County, where he was also held on two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, Hardon was set to face a murder charge in DeKalb County for the death of Mr. Wood.
