Georgia man facing murder charge after body found in ditch by SC road, cops say

Noah Feit
·2 min read
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A month after a Georgia man was found in a ditch along a South Carolina road and later died, another Georgia man is facing a murder charge from the fatal shooting, the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office said.

Jarvon Stapleton — a 24-year-old Stonecrest, Georgia, man — died March 14, according to Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables. Stonecrest is in the Atlanta area.

Earlier that day, a passerby had called the sheriff’s office after seeing Stapleton lying in a ditch on the side of Kitchings Road, near Old Barnwell Road, according to a news release. That’s in the Williston area of Aiken County.

Responding deputies saw Stapleton had been shot multiple times, Ables said. The Georgia man was taken to Aiken Regional Medical Centers and then transferred to Augusta University Medical Center, where he died, according to the coroner’s office. Stapleton had been shot in the hand and head.

On Friday, Barry Junior Bellinger — a 37-year-old Lithonia, Georgia, resident — was identified by the sheriff’s office as Stapleton’s killer.

Bellinger was arrested Friday by the DeKalb County Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service on unrelated drug and weapons charges, according to the sheriff’s office. Bellinger will be held in the DeKalb County Jail pending the legal process for his current charges in Georgia, but is expected to be extradited to Aiken County after that process is complete, the sheriff’s office said.

In addition to murder, Bellinger, aka Alameen Mumin, will be charged in Aiken County with possession of a weapon during a violent crime, kidnapping and carjacking, the sheriff’s office said.

Information about how Bellinger was connected to Stapleton’s death was not available, but the sheriff’s office said both men have ties to the Atlanta area.

There was no word on a motive for the shooting, or why the Georgia men were in Aiken County.

No other injuries were reported.

In addition to the sheriff’s office, coroner’s office, DeKalb County police, and U.S. Marshals, the Williston Police Department and Barnwell County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation.

Stapleton’s family said “We express our deepest gratitude and are truly thankful to all the law enforcement officers and community members that help bring this man to justice,” according to the sheriff’s office.