On the evening of December 29, 2020, gunshots echoed through the Rolling Ridge apartment complex in northwest Athens, Georgia, forever altering the course of several lives. When Athens-Clarke County police officers, who were already in the vicinity on an unrelated matter, arrived at the scene, they discovered a man suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim, identified as 27-year-old Quamiek Malik Aziz, a male resident of Athens, was rushed to a local hospital but tragically succumbed to his
injuries. Another man, Deundre Moses, was also wounded during the incident but survived.
The investigation into the fatal shooting was a collaborative effort involving the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force. Their work led them to a suspect, and on January 22, 2021, arrest warrants were secured for Christopher Tyrone Rollins, a 30-year-old from Jefferson, Georgia. At the time the warrants were issued, Rollins was already incarcerated at the Clarke County jail on unrelated charges. The motive for the shooting was later revealed to be an alleged dispute over Rollins' use of a counterfeit $100 bill, which escalated into a deadly altercation.
Christopher Rollins was subsequently indicted by a Clarke County grand jury and faced a series of grave charges, including Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. However, following a four-day trial in Superior Court, a jury returned a verdict on April 27, 2023. Christopher Tyrone Rollins was acquitted on the charges of malice and felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Additionally, the judge granted a directed verdict of not guilty for the charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, concluding the legal proceedings in the death of Quamiek Malik Aziz.
