In the winter of 2018, the life of 19-year-old Maurice Stargell was tragically cut short in a Decatur, Georgia motel. On the evening of January 16th, police responded to a call at the Candler Inn and discovered Stargell's body; he had sustained at least one gunshot wound to his back. A black handgun was found lying next to him.
According to a witness at the scene, two men were seen dragging Stargell out of Room 131 and leaving him on the ground.
The same two men were observed moving between rooms 130 and 131 before they fled the location. The situation was tense enough that a SWAT team was called to the scene based on the possibility that a suspect might still be present. After obtaining a search warrant, law enforcement entered the room but found that the suspect had already gone.
The investigation into the shooting death of Maurice Stargell led authorities to 29-year-old Calvin Joel Bartholomew. Warrants issued in the case allege that Stargell and Bartholomew had arranged to meet at the motel for a drug transaction. The encounter escalated into an attempted robbery, during which Bartholomew reportedly pulled a gun and fatally shot Stargell. Following the shooting, a witness saw Stargell being dragged from the room and left outside. Calvin Joel Bartholomew was later apprehended by Atlanta police at an apartment complex and taken into custody.
