In the late hours of a Thursday evening in Atlanta, Georgia, a dispute in the parking lot of a bustling Buckhead shopping center turned fatal, claiming the life of 45-year-old Derrick Dukes. The African-American man was shot multiple times on June 1, 2017, in the Piedmont-Peachtree Crossing Plaza. Witnesses reported hearing a fight before the gunshots rang out.
Emergency services arrived to find Dukes near a Mercedes, and he was rushed to a nearby hospital where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The initial investigation by the Atlanta Police Department was swift, with detectives gathering evidence and speaking to witnesses at the scene. They soon released cellphone video footage to the public in an effort to identify the individuals involved in the altercation that led to Dukes' death. Police indicated that they believed Dukes knew the people who assaulted him. The investigation pointed toward a man in a white tank top as the primary aggressor in the physical confrontation that preceded the shooting.
Within a couple of months, the investigation led to the arrests of two suspects. In August 2017, Kristy Forrester and Robert Scott were taken into custody and charged with the murder of Derrick Dukes. Authorities confirmed at the time that they believed Forrester and Scott were acquainted with Dukes. Following their arrests, both were held in the Fulton County jail. The final disposition of the charges against Kristy Forrester and Robert Scott is not publicly available from online sources.
