In September of 2018, a young man's life was tragically cut short on a street in southeast Macon, Georgia. Seventeen-year-old Pedro Garcia Jr., a male who had just finished his shift at Wendy's, was shot and killed on Villa Crest Avenue. The incident, which marked the 32nd homicide in the city that year, stemmed from what prosecutors believe was a dispute over a gold necklace Garcia was wearing.
The events of that night unfolded after an argument between Garcia and another seventeen-year-old, Tajah Coleman. Following the initial confrontation, Garcia left to go to a nearby store. It was on his way home that he was ambushed by Coleman, who attempted to rob him at gunpoint. During the struggle, in which Coleman was pulling at Garcia's shirt and necklace, Garcia was shot once in the chest. He collapsed just a short distance from his front porch and died at the scene.
The investigation into Garcia's death quickly led to the identification of two suspects: Tajah Coleman and Ja'Reyse Pollard, who was also seventeen at the time. A tip to law enforcement the day after the shooting reported someone seeing Pollard dispose of a gun in a car. Ballistics testing matched the bullets from that gun to the one that killed Garcia. Pollard later admitted his involvement in the planned robbery.
In September 2019, both Coleman and Pollard, then eighteen, were sentenced for their roles in the crime. Tajah Deshun Coleman pleaded guilty to felony murder and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Ja'Reyse Detrez Pollard pleaded guilty to armed robbery and received a twenty-year prison sentence.
