In the winter of 2016, a dispute over a business transaction in Savannah, Georgia, turned fatal, ending the life of 35-year-old Joshua Ray DeBerry. On the morning of Wednesday, December 21, police responded to a call in the 400 block of East 49th Street, where they discovered DeBerry outside his home with a life-threatening gunshot wound. He was quickly transported to Memorial University Medical Center, but tragically, he succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation into the shooting led
the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department to identify 25-year-old Tamaron Varner as the primary suspect. Believing the shooting stemmed from a disagreement concerning a business deal, authorities located and arrested Varner at his residence on the 700 block of East 39th Street later that same day. The arrest brought a swift, though not complete, sense of closure to the violent morning.
Further investigation into Varner's activities revealed a pattern of violence. Evidence connected him to another shooting that had occurred just a day prior, on December 20, which resulted in the serious injury of 48-year-old O'Neal Scrivens. Consequently, Varner faced a series of charges for his alleged actions. In connection with DeBerry's death, he was charged with murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. For the shooting of Scrivens, he was additionally charged with criminal attempted murder, as well as two more firearm possession charges. DeBerry's death marked the 50th homicide in Savannah for what was a particularly violent year for the city.
