In the quiet suburbs of Athens, Georgia, a transaction arranged online turned into a scene of deadly violence that claimed the life of 21-year-old Casey Parten, a male from Flowery Branch. The tragic events unfolded on the evening of Monday, May 17, 2021, when Casey, accompanied by his 24-year-old brother Tyler, traveled to Marlborough Downs Road in the Stonehenge subdivision.
They had planned to purchase a dirt bike they had seen advertised on Facebook Marketplace by a 16-year-old named Ashawn Adams.
What was meant to be a simple exchange quickly devolved into a harrowing ordeal. The dirt bike, it turned out, was merely a lure in a calculated setup. Upon their arrival, the Parten brothers were met with an unexpected and hostile situation. An exchange of gunfire erupted, leaving both Casey Parten and Ashawn Adams with critical injuries. Tyler Parten, who was also present during the violent encounter, was not injured.
When Athens-Clarke County Police responded to reports of the shooting, they found a large crowd gathered and two individuals on the ground with gunshot wounds. Ashawn Adams was pronounced dead at the scene. Casey Parten was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition. Despite medical efforts, he succumbed to his injuries two days later, on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
The immediate aftermath of the shooting left a community in shock and a family grappling with a sudden and senseless loss. Investigators quickly determined that the supposed sale was a pretense for a robbery. A relative of Casey Parten stated that they later learned there was never a motorcycle and that the brothers had walked into a trap. Police recovered two firearms from the scene but did not immediately release information on who fired the shots.
In the days following the incident, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department opened an investigation into the double homicide. They appealed to the public for any information regarding the shooting or anyone who may have had similar interactions through Facebook Marketplace for the purchase of a dirt bike in that area. However, at the time of the initial reports, no suspects had been publicly identified or arrested in connection with the deaths of Casey Parten and Ashawn Adams. The investigation was described as ongoing, with authorities awaiting autopsy results and further evidence testing to piece together the precise sequence of events that led to the fatal gunfire. As of the latest available information from the time, the case remained under active investigation with no public announcements of arrests or charges being filed.
