In the early evening of New Year's Day 2021, a sense of festivity was tragically cut short in Milledgeville, Georgia. Keion Shontrell 'KD' Jackson, a 30-year-old African American male, found himself in a fatal confrontation on Oconee Street. The Milledgeville Police Department responded to a call around 9:30 p.m. regarding a gunshot victim and discovered Jackson with a gunshot wound to his stomach.
Emergency services promptly transported him to Navicent Health in Milledgeville, and he was later transferred to Navicent Health in Macon, where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation into Jackson's death led authorities to 27-year-old Raquevius Lamon Hodges. Initially, the case was investigated as a potential murder. However, as detectives from the Milledgeville Police Department and the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney's Office delved deeper into the circumstances, a different narrative emerged. Witnesses, though reportedly reluctant to come forward due to concerns about gang affiliations connected to the case, eventually provided crucial testimony.
According to the investigation, the incident began with a telephone argument between Jackson and Hodges, reportedly over a woman. The two men, who had been together with a third individual earlier, engaged in a physical altercation. Following the fight, Jackson allegedly went into a house, retrieved a gun, and attempted to shoot Hodges. The firearm reportedly jammed. It was during Jackson's attempt to clear the malfunction that Hodges, also armed, shot him.
Based on the evidence and witness accounts, the district attorney's office concluded that Hodges had acted in self-defense. Consequently, no murder charges were filed against him in connection with Keion Shontrell Jackson's death. Despite being cleared of criminal wrongdoing in the fatal shooting, Hodges, as a convicted felon, still faced legal repercussions. He was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
