In the early morning hours of November 18, 2025, the life of 31-year-old Eric Lewis Morgan, a male from McRae-Helena, Georgia, was tragically cut short. Gunshots shattered the morning quiet in an Eastman neighborhood, leading to a 911 call around 8:10 a.m. reporting the sounds of gunfire and a man being shot. Responding authorities discovered Morgan's body in the yard of a residence in the 5500 block of Lee Avenue. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. His body was subsequently transported to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Medical Examiner's Office in Decatur for an autopsy.
Family members remember Eric Morgan as a fun-loving and adventurous father of three who worked at a wood-chip mill in Chauncey. According to a cousin, Morgan was attempting to run to his father's house for safety when he was shot multiple times. The proximity of the shooting to Dodge County Middle School and Dodge County High School prompted a soft lockdown at both schools as a precautionary measure.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took the lead in the case at the request of the Eastman Police Department. Their investigation led to a significant development two days later. On November 20, 2025, the GBI arrested 30-year-old Trustis Darun Deeds of Eastman in connection with Morgan's death. Deeds was taken into custody and booked into the Dodge County Jail. He faces serious charges, including Felony Murder, Malice Murder, and two counts of Aggravated Assault.
While an arrest has been made, authorities have stated that the investigation is still active and ongoing. No official motive for the shooting has been publicly released, and it is unclear what relationship, if any, existed between Morgan and Deeds. Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the case will be handed over to the Oconee Circuit District Attorney's Office for prosecution.
