In the early morning hours of August 22, 2020, the life of 34-year-old Lephillip Shantavious Wright was tragically cut short. The male victim was in the parking lot shared by Cowboys Bar and Grill and Smoke Crave on Lanier Drive in Statesboro, Georgia, when gunfire erupted around 1:45 a.m. Officers from the Statesboro Police Department and Georgia Southern University Police responded to reports of shots fired and discovered Wright lying in the parking lot with multiple gunshot wounds.
He was rushed by Bulloch County EMS to East Georgia Regional Medical Center, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased.
The investigation into the shooting began immediately, with detectives interviewing numerous witnesses and processing the crime scene for evidence. Through their investigation, they were able to identify a suspect in the fatal shooting. Victor Boatwright, a 25-year-old man from nearby Twin City, was identified as the alleged shooter.
With the assistance of the Emanuel County Sheriff's Office, Victor Boatwright was taken into custody. He was subsequently charged with one count of murder and one count of aggravated assault in connection with the death of Lephillip Wright. Following his arrest, Boatwright was transported to the Bulloch County Jail to await further legal proceedings. Authorities noted that neither Wright nor Boatwright had any affiliation with Georgia Southern University, which is located near the scene of the crime. Lephillip Wright, originally from East Dublin, was a father and was employed at Great Dane in Statesboro at the time of his death.
