On the evening of New Year's Eve in 2016, 18-year-old Cherish Williams was fatally shot during a robbery at Independence Park in Jonesboro, Georgia. A senior at Mundy's Mill High School, she was in a car with two friends, listening to music, when they were approached by three armed men. The assailants demanded their valuables. As Williams and her friends were complying and exiting the vehicle, her phone reportedly lit up, which the attackers may have mistaken as a call to the police. One of the suspects then shot Williams. Her friends attempted to rush her to the hospital but flagged down a police officer en route. Cherish Williams was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The initial investigation by the Clayton County Police was met with limited descriptive information about the suspects, who were identified only as three Black males. One was described as wearing a red Nike hoodie pulled low over his face, possibly with long hair or dreadlocks. The case gained a significant lead when a tipster provided the name of one suspect and photos of four other potential suspects just two days after the murder. Investigators took this information to Mundy's Mill High School, where they were able to identify the individuals. The investigation further connected the suspects to a series of other armed robberies in the same area.
In January and February of 2017, a series of search warrants led to the arrests of multiple suspects. Dequan Robinson, 16, Aaron Drummond, 16, and Jakeem Williams, 17, were ultimately charged with felony murder in connection with Cherish Williams's death. Three other individuals, Kenan Scurry, 17, Ulas Scurry, 15, and Norman Logan, 18, were also arrested and faced a multitude of charges related to other crimes, including armed robbery, home invasion, and aggravated assault. In total, the six suspects faced a combined 152 charges. Authorities stated that the crimes were gang-related. All of the suspects were to be charged as adults.
