In the early morning hours of May 9, 2017, the life of 25-year-old Shvensky Collins, a male resident of Moultrie, Georgia, was tragically cut short. Collins was discovered with a fatal gunshot wound in what would become a complex and drawn-out legal case. The Moultrie Police Department, recognizing the severity of the crime, requested the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to delve into the circumstances surrounding the death of the man also known as 'Tadpole'.
The investigation into the shooting led authorities to a suspect, Thomas Lee Tyler, a 37-year-old also known by the nickname 'Squeeze.' On May 25, 2017, agents from the GBI and the Moultrie Police Department arrested Tyler. He was subsequently charged with felony murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Following his arrest, Tyler was booked into the Colquitt County Jail as the investigation continued, with law enforcement appealing to the public for any additional information that could shed light on the events of that fatal morning.
The case against Thomas Lee Tyler proceeded through the legal system, culminating in a trial that would ultimately see him exonerated of the charges brought against him. In a decisive verdict delivered in November 2022, a Colquitt County jury found Tyler not guilty of the murder of Shvensky Collins. The jury's deliberation was notably brief, lasting less than an hour before returning with their decision to acquit Tyler of all charges related to the 2017 shooting.
