In the late hours of a Sunday evening in Macon, Georgia, on April 18, 2021, the life of 27-year-old Greg Lamar Watkins Jr. was tragically cut short. Watkins, a male, was inside a Chevron convenience store on Emery Highway when he was fatally wounded by gunfire shortly before 10:00 p.m. Despite being rushed to the Coliseum Medical Center in a private vehicle, he was pronounced dead. No one else was reported injured in the incident.
The Bibb County Sheriff's Office quickly launched a homicide investigation. Their efforts, in collaboration with the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, led to the identification and arrest of two suspects. The first, 21-year-old Christian Desmond Williams of Macon, was taken into custody without incident at the Green Meadows Apartment complex. He was subsequently charged with murder and four counts of aggravated assault and held without bond.
A second suspect, 20-year-old Jaravi Daevon Leathers Sr., was arrested in early May 2021. Investigators identified him as being with Williams at the Chevron on the night of the murder. Following an interview with investigators, Leathers was also taken into custody and charged with murder. He too was held at the Bibb County Law Enforcement Complex without bond.
The case took a dramatic and unexpected turn just as it was set to proceed to trial. Christian Williams, the primary suspect, vanished hours before he was scheduled to appear in court. His family reported to investigators that he was kidnapped from his front porch by two men. Surveillance footage from his home captured the moments two men dragged him from his yard. Despite a nationwide lookout and the involvement of the U.S. Marshals, his whereabouts remain unknown, stalling the legal proceedings against him. This has left the case in a state of uncertainty, with Sheriff David Davis admitting that investigators have hit a dead end, having followed every lead without any significant breakthroughs.
In the wake of this tragedy, the family of Greg Watkins Jr. filed a wrongful death lawsuit in August 2022 against the owners of the convenience store where the shooting occurred. The lawsuit alleges that illegal gambling and a lack of adequate security at the establishment contributed to a dangerous environment that ultimately led to his death. The family contends that the store's owners were negligent and did not take sufficient measures to prevent such violent incidents.
