In the fall of 2017, a visit to Albany, Georgia, for the Albany State University homecoming festivities turned tragic for a 27-year-old man. Zemal Fuentes, a male from Thomaston, was fatally shot on the evening of Saturday, October 14, 2017, in what authorities described as a drug deal that took a violent turn. The incident unfolded at a Quality Inn located on North Westover Boulevard, marking a grim weekend in the city which saw this as its second homicide in as many days.
According to police reports, the shooting occurred around 7:23 p.m. outside of a room at the motel. Witnesses at the scene reported hearing two or three gunshots and seeing a white Chevrolet Impala fleeing the area shortly after. When law enforcement arrived, they discovered Fuentes with a gunshot wound to his upper body. He was quickly transported by emergency medical services to a local hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal, and he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the death of Zemal Fuentes moved swiftly. The getaway vehicle, the white Impala, was located the following day on the campus of Albany State University. Within 72 hours of the shooting, the Albany Police Department announced the arrests of three individuals in connection with the case. Two men, 19-year-old David Quimby and 21-year-old Courtland Hughley, were taken into custody and faced charges of murder. A third individual, 21-year-old Kedravious Web, a companion of Fuentes, was also arrested and charged with tampering with evidence. The motive, as determined by the swift investigation, was a drug transaction that had gone sour.
While the initial arrests brought a sense of resolution to the immediate investigation, the subsequent legal proceedings for the three men charged have not been widely publicized in the available online news sources. The outcomes of the trials and any convictions or sentences for David Quimby, Courtland Hughley, and Kedravious Web in relation to the death of Zemal Fuentes are not detailed in the reports following their initial arrests. Thus, the final chapter of this tragic story remains publicly untold.
