In the early hours of a Saturday morning, on January 28, 2017, the quiet of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was shattered by gunfire outside the Crossland Studio Suites on West Pike Street. Responding to a 2 a.m. call, Lawrenceville Police officers arrived to a grim scene. They discovered the bodies of two men, 50-year-old Timothy Rogers and 52-year-old Ricky Johnson, both having been fatally shot.
The shooter had vanished before law enforcement arrived, leaving behind a double homicide investigation.
For a month, the case remained a primary focus for detectives who appealed to the public for any information that might lead to an arrest. A reward was offered for tips that could help identify the person or persons responsible for the deaths of Rogers and Johnson. The investigation, though ongoing, seemed to be at a standstill as authorities worked to piece together the events that led to the deadly encounter.
The break in the case came in early March when police arrested 35-year-old Ladarrwin Davion Copeland. He was taken into custody and subsequently charged with two counts of murder and aggravated assault, as well as weapons offenses. Following his arrest, Copeland was held without bail at the Gwinnett County Jail. While an arrest had been made, police officials remained tight-lipped about a potential motive for the killings, stating that the investigation was still active even with Copeland in custody. They continued to encourage anyone with additional information to come forward.
