Suspect in murder case surrenders

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

Jun. 6—EATONTON, Ga. — A man wanted in connection with the shooting death of an Eatonton man following an argument at a convenience store Sunday night is now in custody.

Putnam County Sheriff Howard R. Sills said 24-year-old Lajuan Piere Evans of the 100 block of Hunters Ridge Drive, Monticello, turned himself in to authorities shortly before 5 p.m. Monday. Evans' surrender followed conversations during the day between the suspect's defense attorney, Barry Hazen of Atlanta, and Sills.

Evans, who is charged with malice murder, is being held in the Putnam County Jail in Eatonton.

He is accused of killing 32-year-old Frederick Scott Jr. of the 100 block of Chase Circle in Eatonton, according to Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell.

Scott was shot once in the upper chest following what authorities said was an argument that started around the gas pumps at the Shell Food Mart located on Sumter Street in downtown Eatonton. The shooting happened shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday.

Firefighters/first responders with the Eatonton Fire Department along with personnel with Putnam County Emergency Medical Services rendered aid to Scott at the scene. He was later taken by ambulance to the emergency department of Putnam General Hospital in Eatonton where he was pronounced dead shortly before 7 p.m.

Officers with the Eatonton Police Department, including Cardwell, and Detective Lt. Harry Luke with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and several deputies also arrived on the scene and talked to people at the business. Authorities also viewed the store's camera security footage to aid them in the joint investigation between the police department and sheriff's office.

After the shooting, a large crowd of family and friends gathered outside the emergency department entrance of the hospital.

Cardwell said that after the shooting the suspect reportedly continued pumping gas into his girlfriend's car. The car was later found at a residence on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and was impounded by authorities for evidence purposes. The gun used in the shooting, however, was not found in the car.

Authorities have not yet revealed where Evans went after the shooting or how he might have gotten there.