In the early morning hours of May 13, 2020, Dequario Antwan Thomas, a 40-year-old African American male from Albany, Georgia, was fatally shot while getting ice from a machine at the corner of Independence Drive and Sylvester Highway. At the time of the incident, Thomas was with a woman named Kenya Moffett. As a red truck turned onto Independence Drive, Thomas waved at the vehicle, and shots were fired.
Moffett, who was in a vehicle with Thomas, stated that he ducked and appeared to run as she moved to the driver's seat and drove away from the scene. Fearing the shooters might pursue her, she drove to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. The Albany Police Department launched an investigation into the unprovoked shooting.
On the same day as the shooting, investigators with the Albany Police Department issued warrants for the arrest of 33-year-old Christopher Reginald Cooks, charging him with murder and aggravated assault. Cooks was taken into custody later that evening. The investigation revealed that the shooting was unprovoked as Thomas was simply getting ice.
A second suspect, 19-year-old Otisa Thomas, was later arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault for her role in the crime. She was reportedly with Cooks on the night of the fatal shooting. More arrests were anticipated in connection with the case. Dequario Thomas was remembered as a hardworking father of three daughters and a grandfather to three grandchildren. He had been employed at Sanderson Farms and Church's Chicken. The legal proceedings against both Christopher Reginald Cooks and Otisa Thomas are ongoing.
