In the early morning hours of October 1, 2016, the life of 40-year-old Bernie Mathew Givens, an African American male, was violently cut short in Swainsboro, Georgia. What was initially reported as a death following a brief illness was, in reality, a brutal murder that would unravel a web of gang-related criminal activity in the community. Givens was found in the doorway of his King Circle Drive home with a fatal gunshot wound. The Swainsboro Police Department responded to the scene at approximately 3:15 a.m., and Givens was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
The investigation into Givens' death slowly peeled back the layers of a complex and dangerous criminal enterprise. Earlier that evening, Givens had been at a block party where he had won a significant amount of money playing cards. This windfall is believed to have made him a target. In the hours leading up to the shooting, a man named John Lorenzo Dickerson was seen acting suspiciously around Givens, appearing angry and repeatedly walking past him with his hand in his pocket, seemingly concealing a weapon.
The quiet of the night was shattered by a single gunshot. Givens' girlfriend was awakened by the sound and his calls for help. She found him wounded in their front yard and, with his assistance, managed to help him back towards the house to get him to safety. In a desperate attempt to summon help with a poor cell signal, she ran to a neighbor's house to call 911. When police arrived, they discovered a trail of blood leading from the carport to the side entrance of the home, where they found Givens lifeless in the kitchen. The medical examiner would later testify that a single bullet, fired from more than four feet away, caused three distinct wounds and led to his death within minutes.
The subsequent investigation led to the indictment and arrest of multiple individuals. In December 2016, John Lorenzo Dickerson was indicted on charges including malice murder, felony murder, and attempted armed robbery. During his trial in September 2017, witnesses testified to his strange behavior on the night of the murder and his expressed need for money. One eyewitness identified Dickerson as the shooter. After the shooting, Dickerson was seen wiping off a gun and subsequently fled to New Jersey. While the jury acquitted him of malice murder, he was found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, attempted armed robbery, and several firearms offenses. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, a conviction that was later upheld by the Georgia Supreme Court.
Further investigations revealed that Givens' murder was connected to a larger network of crime orchestrated by a Bloods-affiliated gang. In 2019, a sweeping 44-count indictment was brought against seven individuals, including the gang's leader, Tony Lenard Williams, on charges ranging from murder and aggravated assault to drug trafficking and violations of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. Among those indicted was Lonnell Willie Denson, who was charged with felony murder in connection with Givens' death. In July 2019, a jury found Denson guilty of felony murder, violation of the gang act, and criminal attempt to commit armed robbery. He was sentenced to life in prison plus an additional 20 years. The extensive investigation, led by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies, exposed the violent and intimidating tactics used by the gang to maintain control of their criminal operations, which led to multiple homicides, including that of Bernie Mathew Givens.
