On a summer evening in Eatonton, Georgia, what began as a gathering of a large crowd on Lawson Drive would end in tragedy, claiming the life of 19-year-old Roman Felton Roswell. The night of Sunday, June 20, 2021, was punctuated by violence that also resulted in the death of 16-year-old Jeremiah DeSean Walton.
Earlier in the evening, at approximately 7:42 p.m., Eatonton Police had been called to the area to break up a fight that had spilled into the street.
After dispersing the crowd, the officers left the scene. However, the calm was short-lived. Around 8:56 p.m., the sound of gunshots echoed through the neighborhood, drawing police back to Lawson Drive. This time, they discovered Roswell and Walton, both of whom had sustained fatal gunshot wounds.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to lead the inquiry into the double homicide. Their investigation quickly pointed to 19-year-old Xavier Rashad Chambers of Milledgeville as the suspected shooter. It is believed that after the police had initially departed, Chambers began firing into the crowd, striking and killing both Roswell and Walton. Authorities have suggested that the shooting may have been gang-related, and that Chambers is a known member of the Bloods gang.
Xavier Rashad Chambers was arrested and faced a slew of charges, including two counts of Malice Murder and two counts of Aggravated Assault. He was also charged with one count of Possession of a Firearm with Altered Identification. Following his arrest, Chambers was booked into the Putnam County Detention Center. The investigation revealed that at the time of the shooting, Chambers had been out on bond for a previous murder charge in Baldwin County. He had been granted a $150,000 bond in that case just a month prior to the deaths of Roswell and Walton.
