Janarick Maleek Reed, 24, was shot and killed in a convenience store parking lot at the intersection of E.G. Miles Parkway and Palm Drive in Hinesville, Georgia, on Wednesday afternoon, August 25, 2021. Reed was driven to Liberty Regional Medical Center after the shooting but succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

Investigators say the shooting followed a drug transaction in which suspects allegedly planned to rob Reed of marijuana. The Hinesville Police Department identified several people of interest; one, Donnell Bernard Mention, later turned himself in. Authorities alleged links between the individuals involved and the Hopout on You gang.

A grand jury returned indictments in June 2022 charging Stephon Markel Whitaker, Donnell Bernard Mention, and Dadreion Lashawn Ceasar with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and street gang terrorism counts. After an eight-day trial in Liberty County Superior Court, a July 2024 jury convicted Ceasar and Mention of voluntary manslaughter and felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and street gang terrorism violations; they were found not guilty of malice murder. Whitaker was acquitted of the murder and aggravated assault counts but convicted of two counts of criminal attempt to commit a felony and two counts of street gang activity. Sentencing was scheduled for August 12, 2024.

Does anyone have information about Reed’s movements that afternoon or about the parking lot where this happened?