'That was just murder': Family remembers victim of road rage killing

The cameras installed on a tractor-trailer rig captured the story of a killing in April 2021.

The video made in the dark predawn hours was viewed by Greene County Sheriff Donnie Harrison and what he saw convinced him that it was nothing more than murder.

The multi-agency investigation into the highway killing culminated on Nov. 30, when a 21-year-old Norcross man, Deron D. Bell, pleaded guilty to murder in Greene County Superior Court. He was sentenced to life in prison.

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Bell was charged with shooting and killing Joseph L. Briggs Jr., a 30-year-old father of two children, who was driving his big rig along Interstate 20 to a delivery location near Atlanta on April 9, 2021.

Briggs, who was from Manning, S.C., was shot early that morning along a section of the interstate that slices through the Georgia county.

The death is one that infuriates the sheriff and has left Briggs’ family traumatized for its senseless nature.

Authorities said early on that it appeared to be a case of road rage, but if so, it was one where Harrison feels only Bell was enraged.

Cameras tell the story

The truck was equipped with cameras on the outside and inside the cab. Harrison said that footage not only told the story of how Briggs was killed, but it led to the quick identification of a suspect.

Bell hid from law enforcement for nearly 10 months until his capture by federal fugitive agents in East Baton Rouge Parrish in Louisiana.

The truck video, Harrison said, shows that just prior to the shooting Briggs moved his truck to the outside lane as he approached another truck stopped on the breakdown lane. Then he merged back over and out of nowhere a BMW goes around Briggs in the breakdown lane.

“There is absolutely no exchange between the two. (Bell) gets over into the left lane, he slows down, gets level with the truck, he slows again and starts shooting,” Harrison said.

“In my opinion that wasn’t road rage. That was just murder. There was no exchange. The reason we know this is the video camera,” the sheriff said.

“Usually in road rage, they brake check, there is an exchange like cutting off, flipping the single finger salute and mouthing back and forth,” the sheriff said. “It infuriates me because it was senseless."

“I’m a little emotional about this case,” the sheriff said, explaining he learned Briggs was “a good father, a Christian man, and was loved by the people he worked for, his family and the community in Manning, South Carolina.”

“He didn’t deserve this, but God has a plan for us all,” Harrison said.

Missing a loved one

When Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney prosecutors called Bell for trial recently, he unexpectedly changed his plea to guilty.

Brigg’s family attended the proceedings, expecting a weeklong trial.

Briggs grew up in Manning, a small town near the fishing mecca of Santee Cooper Lakes. Here, family members said Briggs grew up an outdoorsman, fishing and hunting like many small-town youngsters.

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The parents, Joseph Briggs Sr. and Virginia Briggs, attended the court hearing, but Elizabeth Gaymor, one of Brigg’s four sisters, said her father couldn’t bring himself to go inside the courtroom.

“He couldn’t handle it,” said Gaymor, who now lives in San Diego, Calif.

Attending the court proceedings was difficult as again the family relived the day of his death, Gaymor said.

“Those emotions resurfaced,” she said. “They’re never gone away, but over a period of time, as you progress through the grief, they get better. But when re-subjected, you experience those emotions over again.”

When she first saw her brother’s killer in the courtroom, Gaymor said she felt anger.

“He did turn around and apologize to the family, but there was no why. What caused this? Why did he do it?” she said.

Kayla Briggs, a sister who now lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and is only two years younger than her brother, also described the anguish of losing someone she described as her best friend.

“I’ve been dealing with a lot of depression and anxiety. It’s been taxing on my daily life,” she said.

“It’s been hard watching my parents deal with it as well,” she said. “He was a really good father and the fact he can’t have a relationship with his kids hurts, too.”

Another sister, Jenny Briggs of Greenville, S.C., was deployed with the military when she was informed of his death.

“It has traumatized me. He was just doing his job,” she said, explaining in Greenville she often sees a similar truck from the same trucking company.

“I see that truck every day. The same white truck and the only difference is the numbers,” she said. “I try to keep going and I’m grateful that our mom instilled religion in us in knowing that God won’t do more than what we can bear.”

She described her brother as having an engaging personality, who brought humor to family gatherings.

Kayla Briggs said there was no way her brother could prepare himself for the situation he encountered that morning on I-20.

“There is no situational awareness that can prep you to be on guard for that. It was so abrupt," she said. "He didn’t see it coming."

Briggs said her parents taught their children to respect life and make good choices.

“Have the mentality of being a productive citizen and want to make something of yourself in life," she said. "It propels you. It is encouraging and helps you make better choices."

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Life imposed on man who confesses to killing trucker on I-20 in Greene County