In the afternoon of January 6, 2025, a dispute over a cellphone tragically escalated, leading to the death of 19-year-old Ashton Jackson in southwest Atlanta. Jackson, a male, had accompanied a female friend to a residence on Holderness Street to retrieve another woman's phone, which had allegedly been taken by her boyfriend, Markius Gillespie.
Upon their arrival at the West End neighborhood home shortly before 3 p.m., the situation quickly turned violent.
Gillespie reportedly fired a gun into the air and toward the street where Jackson and his friend were standing. At least one of the bullets struck Jackson in the head. His friend told police that Jackson had a gun, but never drew the weapon. After Jackson was shot, Gillespie allegedly took Jackson's fallen firearm and ordered his friend to flee the scene.
When Atlanta police officers responded to reports of a shooting, they found Jackson unresponsive with a gunshot wound. Medical personnel pronounced him dead at the scene. For months, the case remained under investigation, with police working to identify a suspect.
In early May 2025, authorities publicly identified Markius Gillespie as the suspect in Ashton Jackson's death and offered a reward for information leading to his whereabouts. On May 12, 2025, Gillespie, age 22, surrendered to the Fulton County Jail. He has been charged with murder, aggravated assault, and theft by taking.
