In the early morning hours of April 5, 2014, the life of 25-year-old Jennifer Ann Gatewood was tragically cut short in a Union City, Georgia hotel room. Police discovered the young woman, a mother to a four-year-old boy, unresponsive at the Garden Inn and Suites on Shannon Parkway, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound. The grim discovery launched a search for those responsible, quickly centering on two individuals: Gatewood's boyfriend and his mother.
Authorities swiftly identified 32-year-old Irwin Clint Dresbach, Gatewood's boyfriend with an extensive criminal record, as the primary suspect in her death. An accomplice, initially named as 53-year-old Lola Connie Stephens-Smith, who was later identified as Dresbach's mother, was also sought. Arrest warrants for felony murder were issued for the pair, who were believed to have fled in a white 1998 Dodge Durango, possibly heading towards South Carolina or Alabama. The public was warned that the suspects should be considered armed and dangerous.
The investigation took a turn when Stephens-Smith turned herself in to the authorities and began cooperating with the police. As a result of her cooperation, it was determined that she would likely not face charges in connection with Gatewood's murder. The focus of the manhunt then narrowed solely to Dresbach. After more than two weeks on the run, he was located and apprehended without incident at a hotel near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Following his capture, Irwin Clint Dresbach was booked into the Fulton County Jail, marking his eleventh arrest in that county. He faced a string of serious charges, including murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. In July 2014, a grand jury indicted him for malice murder and two counts of felony murder, among other charges. Dresbach was ultimately convicted for his role in the shooting death of Jennifer Gatewood. He later appealed his convictions, arguing that his trial counsel was ineffective, but the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the original judgment.
