Colquitt County honors crime victims with ceremony

Kasmira Smith, The Moultrie Observer, Ga.
·3 min read

Apr. 26—MOULTRIE — Local law enforcement and crime victim advocates gathered Tuesday morning to fellowship with crime victims for National Crime Victims' Rights Week.

District Attorney of the Southern Judicial Circuit Bradfield M. Shealy opened the ceremony at Lily Pond Farm Event Center honoring the surviving family members of seven casualties that occurred in Colquitt County. The ceremony was held by the Moultrie District Attorney's Office at Lily Pond Farm Event Center.

Colquitt County Commissioner Barbara Jelks of District 1 read a proclamation marking the week of April 24 to April 28 as Colquitt County's National Crime Victims' Rights Week.

"I know, in this community, we are working and striving to reduce this level of crime. I must remind you that there is a big tie between crime and mental illness, so we cannot deal with a crime without dealing with mental illness," Jelks said prior to reading the proclamation.

Investigator Ronald Jordan with the Colquitt County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division followed Jelks reciting the Crime victim's rights.

Executive Director Regina Dismuke continued the ceremony by speaking about the work at the Hero House, the Children's Advocacy Center of Colquitt County. The community resource center was created in 2000 as a non-profit organization to minimize the trauma of child victims of sexual abuse and severe physical abuse by responding to their immediate and long-term needs in a child-friendly, safe environment.

"When they leave our center, we ask for them to leave their trauma with us and to continue to work on their healing," Dismuke said.

Victim Advocates Lauren Crosby and Katee Davis, from the district attorney's office, lit candles and read each victim's name in remembrance of their lives and hardships. Families and friends stood as the names of their loved ones were called. They comforted and hugged each other as a moment of silence took place. Those names were: Chad McCollum, Sinclair Ryles, Charles Butt, Jamaya McIntosh, John Taylor, Rhoderick Moore and Jayla Alexander.

Angela McIntosh, the mother of Jamaya McIntosh, served as a guest speaker. She spoke about gun violence, gun laws and recalled the day she learned of her daughter's death.

"I want to share my story about the tragic death of my daughter Jamaya, her unborn son Jayce, and her father-in-law Charlie. They lost their lives to senseless gun violence on March 18, 2022. I went from planning a baby shower to planning a funeral in a blink of an eye," McIntosh said. "She was only 18 years old with so much life to live. She was a beautiful, vibrant, and kind-hearted person. To know her was to love her."

Attendees socialized with other grieving families and shared their own memories and personal testimonies about crime victims while the vigil concluded. Shealy and Crosby gave special thanks to the ceremony's sponsors: Lilly Pond Event Center, B&S Concrete Services, Chick-fil-A Moultrie, Gregory P. Costin, Southern Temptations Catering, Beadles Land and Timber, Walmart, Jon V. Forehand P.C., Home Depot and Lowe's.