In the summer of 2020, a dispute in Athens, Georgia, tragically cut short the life of 34-year-old Jarred Lamar Sanders. An African American man from Gainesville, Sanders was visiting Athens on July 27th when he was shot and killed. The incident occurred around 1:50 p.m. in a breezeway at the Bethel Midtown Village apartments on Hickman Drive. Sanders, who was known to some as 'St.
Louis,' had previously lived in Athens and worked at a poultry plant in Gainesville.
The man identified as the suspect in the shooting was Joseph Desmonde Baughns, a 36-year-old from Athens. An argument between Sanders and Baughns reportedly escalated, culminating in the fatal shooting. Sanders suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest and was transported to a local hospital, where he later died. Following the incident, Baughns fled the scene, prompting a search by law enforcement.
Two days after the shooting, on July 29, 2020, Joseph Baughns turned himself in to the Athens-Clarke County police. He was subsequently charged with malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Baughns was indicted by a grand jury on these charges and held at the Athens-Clarke County Jail without bond.
When the case went to trial, the jury acquitted Baughns of the murder charges. He was, however, convicted on the charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Following the verdict, Baughns remained incarcerated at the county jail, awaiting sentencing on the illegal gun possession conviction.
