In the spring of 2015, the evening of April 13th was shattered by the sound of gunfire in a Savannah, Georgia neighborhood. When police responded to a shots fired call around 8:30 p.m. in the 1200 block of N.E. 36th Street, they discovered a grim scene. Through an open door, officers could see the bodies of three men who had been shot to death. One of the victims was identified as 30-year-old Garry Bernard Mells, a male resident of the home.
He was found alongside his brother, 52-year-old Anderson Mells Jr., and their cousin, 37-year-old Johnny Green.
The initial investigation into the triple homicide saw detectives and forensics officers working through the night to process the scene. Undercover and specialty units, including the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, were brought in to assist in the early stages of the probe. Investigators believed the shooting was a targeted attack and looked into whether risky activities at the residence were connected to the crime. Shortly after the discovery, two individuals were detained during a traffic stop and considered persons of interest, but they were later released after questioning. With few leads, the case eventually went cold, leaving the families of the victims without answers for years.
A breakthrough in the case finally came in August of 2021, more than six years after the murders. The Savannah Police Department's Major Crimes Unit had reopened the investigation and uncovered new leads that pointed to multiple suspects. On August 10, 2021, a Chatham County grand jury indicted three men, Stanley Hall, 38, John Baker, 29, and Jerrell Williams, 39, on charges of felony murder and malice murder. The arrests followed shortly after, with Stanley Hall being apprehended by a U.S. Marshal's fugitive task force and SWAT team after he barricaded himself inside a residence. Baker and Williams were taken into custody on August 20, and all three suspects were booked into the Chatham County jail.
However, in a stunning turn of events, the path to justice took an unexpected detour. In August of 2024, the Chatham County District Attorney announced that the murder cases against Hall, Baker, and Williams were being dismissed. The decision was made after two former Savannah police officers involved in the homicide investigation were themselves indicted on charges of perjury and violation of their oath of office. The District Attorney stated that due to 'various legal and evidentiary reasons' stemming from the officers' misconduct, the criminal justice process would be unable to secure convictions in the triple homicide case.
