Vernard Lamar Mays, 23, was shot dead on his own doorstep in Macon, Georgia on October 27, 2015. Earlier that day a nearby car crash led one participant, a member of the Crips, to hide a handgun in the yard of the home Mays shared with his mother, a 911 dispatcher. That night a group of men came to the house to recover the weapon. After an initial visit, one man, Curtis Dewayne Jackson Jr., left and returned with armed associates including Addonis Xavier Rhodes. Mays answered the door, told them he did not know about the gun, and at a signal the men opened fire. Mays and his mother retreated into a bedroom; Mays was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

The investigation produced five arrests: Curtis Dewayne Jackson Jr., 22; Addonis Xavier Rhodes, 16; Jadarien Shamar Flowers, 19; Michael Dewayne Hardy Jr., 19; and Drayson MacDonald, 16. Flowers, McDonald, and Hardy pleaded guilty and agreed to testify; testimony at trial tied the fatal shot to Rhodes, and a .40-caliber shell casing matching the fatal bullet was found where Rhodes had been standing. Jackson and Rhodes were convicted of malice murder, felony murder, and violating Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act; Jackson received life without parole and Rhodes received life with parole eligibility after 30 years.

If anyone knew Vernard, his routines, or the events that led up to that October night, please share what might help the investigation or offer closure.