In the early hours of June 6, 2018, Latonian Burch, a 39-year-old Black/African American man, was shot and killed in his room at the America's Best Value Inn on Candler Road in Decatur, Georgia. The incident unfolded at approximately 1 a.m. when a woman knocked on the door of the motel room where Burch was staying with his girlfriend, Jacandra Jenkins.
According to Jenkins, when the door was opened, a man who had been hiding rushed into the room.
A physical altercation ensued between Burch and the male suspect. During the struggle, the man shot Burch multiple times. The shooter and the woman who had knocked on the door then fled the scene. Jenkins, who was present during the entire ordeal, was not physically harmed.
DeKalb County police were called to the scene and immediately began an investigation. They interviewed witnesses and reviewed surveillance footage from the motel in an effort to identify the two individuals involved. At the time, police did not believe the victim knew his attackers. Burch was a father of four, and his family, including his daughter Brandy McClendon, made public pleas for anyone with information to come forward.
Despite the initial investigation and the emotional appeals from his family, there have been no publicly announced arrests or identification of any suspects in the years following the death of Latonian Burch. The case remains an unsolved homicide.
