In the quiet town of Thomaston, Georgia, the life of Michael Gates, a 27-year-old Black man, was tragically cut short on the night of December 1, 2020. What began as a home invasion at his Wellington Place apartment escalated into a fatal encounter that would leave his family and community demanding justice.
On that Tuesday evening, at approximately 10:22 p.m., two armed men broke into Gates's residence with the intent to rob him. During the commission of the crime, Gates was shot. Emergency services were called to the scene, and he was rushed to a nearby hospital, but the gunshot wounds proved to be fatal, and he succumbed to his injuries. The initial investigation by the Thomaston Police Department pointed towards a robbery that had gone horribly wrong.
As investigators delved deeper into the case, the pieces began to come together, leading them to their first suspect. On December 8, 2020, just a week after the incident, police arrested 19-year-old Jordan Marquez Jones, a native of Thomaston. He was subsequently charged with felony murder and home invasion for his role in the death of Michael Gates.
The search for the second individual involved continued into the new year. Authorities identified 26-year-old Jakari Daniel, also known as 'Byrd,' as the other suspect. He was described as a Black male with distinctive facial tattoos, including a cross in the middle of his forehead, and was considered armed and dangerous. The manhunt for Daniel concluded on March 6, 2021, when he was apprehended in McIntosh County on unrelated drug and weapon charges. He was then slated to be transferred to the Upson County Jail to face charges in connection with Gates's murder. By May of 2021, the Thomaston Police Department announced that all suspects associated with the home invasion and murder of Michael Gates had been arrested and charged.
