Sparta man killed in Sandersville shooting

Billy Hobbs, The Union-Recorder, Milledgeville, Ga.
·2 min read

Nov. 28—SANDERSVILLE, Ga. — A 42-year-old Hancock County man is dead following a shooting and several fights that broke out at an event center in Sandersville early Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, local and state authorities say.

An estimated 500 people were believed to have attended separate gatherings at Loft 478 Venue, a popular event center located in the Twin Cities Plaza Shopping Center on South Harris Street.

At least two fights broke out among those attending the two events about 1:30 a.m., according to a press release issued by Lindsey Wilkes, special agent in-charge of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Office in Eastman.

While officers with the Sandersville Police Department and deputies with the Washington County Sheriff's Office were attempting to break up the fights, gunshots were heard nearby. A gunshot victim was later discovered.

Authorities later posted a lookout for a man wanted for questioning in connection with the fatal shooting. Several hours later, the suspect turned himself in to authorities at the Washington County Jail in Sandersville, according to Washington County Sheriff Joel Cochran.

The suspect in the shooting was identified as Xzavious Wicker, 27, of Sandersville. Wicker is accused of fatally shooting Thomas Womble Jr. of Sparta, according to a press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). Agents and a crime scene specialist from the GBI's Eastman office assisted the Sandersville Police Department in the investigation.

Wicker is currently being held in the Washington County Jail on charges of felony murder, malice murder, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.

Womble was treated at the scene by firefighters/first responders with the Sandersville Fire Department and other local emergency medical personnel. He was later taken by ambulance to the emergency room of Washington County Regional Medical Center in Sandersville. The victim died a short time later.

An autopsy will be performed by a medical examiner at a GBI crime laboratory later this week. The autopsy will provide the actual cause and manner of Womble's death.

"This investigation is active and ongoing," Wilkes said in the GBI press release.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sandersville Police Department at 478-552-3121 or the Eastman office of the GBI at 478-374-6988.