In the early morning hours of March 24, 2024, the small city of Millen, Georgia, was rocked by a violent incident that left two people dead. Maxine Jones, a 48-year-old female from Millen, was one of the victims discovered at the Annie P. Chance Veterans Center on Acorn Avenue. The Millen Police Department responded to a call about a shooting at approximately 1:45 a.m.
and found Jones and 28-year-old Tyrell Brown deceased at the scene.
Initially, law enforcement reported that Brown had a gunshot wound while Jones showed no immediate signs of trauma. However, autopsies performed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab later revealed that both Jones and Brown had died from gunshot wounds. The investigation into the double homicide was quickly taken over by the GBI at the request of the Millen Police Department. A few hours after the discovery at the veterans center, another shooting occurred around 7:10 a.m. on Wasdin Street, which investigators believed was connected to the initial incident, though no one was injured in the second shooting.
The investigation led to the identification of a suspect, 28-year-old Raheem Whitfield of Waynesboro. Whitfield turned himself in to the authorities and was subsequently arrested. He has been charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in connection with the deaths of Jones and Brown. Following his arrest, Whitfield was booked into the Jenkins County Jail. In February 2026, Raheem Whitfield appeared in Jenkins County Superior Court for an immunity hearing related to the shooting deaths of Maxine Jones and Tyrell Brown. The case is set to be prosecuted by the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office.
