In the late hours of what should have been a celebration, a young man's life was tragically cut short in a parking lot in Decatur, Georgia. Matthew McCullough, a 33-year-old male, was killed on his birthday, January 19, 2018. He had arranged to meet someone to sell several electronic gaming devices, a transaction that ultimately led to his untimely death.
The evening took a dark turn when the planned sale turned into a robbery.
McCullough was shot multiple times in the back and dragged from his vehicle in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Golf Vista Circle. The assailants fled the scene, taking with them eight to ten Xbox 360 games and McCullough's phone. His father, Sam McCullough, later made an emotional public plea for any information that could lead to the capture of those responsible for his son's murder.
Months after the incident, investigators from the DeKalb County Police Department made a breakthrough in the case. They released surveillance footage from a nearby gas station taken in the hours leading up to the shooting. The video showed a maroon Tahoe that police believed was used as the getaway vehicle. In the footage, McCullough is seen interacting with individuals who were in the Tahoe. Authorities theorized that someone McCullough was with that night called the occupants of the Tahoe to set up the robbery.
In July 2018, six months after the fatal shooting, the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office announced an arrest. Jarius Anderson, a 17-year-old from Decatur, was taken into custody without incident at a local residence. He was subsequently charged with armed robbery and murder in connection with Matthew McCullough's death. Anderson was booked into the DeKalb County Jail and was denied bond.
