In the tight-knit community of Macon, Georgia, the holiday season of 2023 was shattered by a tragic event that unfolded at a family's long-time gathering place. Artice Pettigrew, a 52-year-old man, was killed on Saturday, December 23, 2023, following a dispute that escalated to fatal violence. The incident took place on Fort Hill Street, at the home of his late grandmother, a place that had been a hub for family get-togethers.
The events leading to Pettigrew's death began with an argument involving his cousin, Ladonta Lamont Solomon, and Solomon's son. Pettigrew reportedly confronted Solomon about his handling of the situation. While Pettigrew was on his phone walking alongside a pickup truck, Solomon allegedly pointed a gun at him and fired. The immediate aftermath was captured on a nearby church's surveillance camera, which showed a person falling from the back of the truck, people scattering, and then three individuals lifting the body and placing it back into the truck.
Initially, when Bibb County Sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a person shot, they found no victim. Solomon, who was present and appeared agitated with a busted lip, told them someone had been shot but then became uncooperative and requested a lawyer. With no visible signs of a shooting, the deputies left the scene. The following day, December 24, deputies returned after receiving information that a person had been shot and their body was in a white pickup truck. After a family member confided in investigators that relatives were afraid to speak out, deputies uncovered Pettigrew's body hidden under a tarp in the bed of his own truck.
The investigation quickly led to the arrest of 46-year-old Ladonta Lamont Solomon, who was charged with murder. Authorities also arrested his 70-year-old father, Charles Edward Solomon, and his 25-year-old son, Tyric Deonte Solomon, on charges of concealing the death of another. Ladonta Solomon was later released on a $100,000 bond and placed on house arrest, a decision that caused further distress to Pettigrew's grieving family, who felt the release disregarded the brutal nature of the crime.
