A routine traffic stop on January 29, 2025, near Thornton Road and I-20 led deputies to find 21-year-old Malachi Mitchell of Lithia Springs dead in the passenger seat of a vehicle from multiple gunshot wounds. The driver, a 19-year-old acquaintance from high school, was detained for questioning and later released after giving an account that the meeting had been a planned sale of an AR-style pistol for $800. The driver says, after payment, a struggle over the firearm left him fearing for his life and he fired a tan Glock 9mm in self-defense before fleeing the scene.

The Douglas County District Attorney’s office reviewed witness statements, vehicle evidence and social media activity and announced in September 2025 that no criminal charges would be filed, concluding the shooting was justified as self-defense. Mitchell’s mother, Kenya Mitchell, disputes that finding. She commissioned a private autopsy that she says showed her son was shot four times in the back of the head by rounds from two different firearms, and she has pushed for the case to be reopened, organized rallies and filed a civil lawsuit.

What can anyone who knew Malachi or witnessed the January 29 stop or the events leading up to it add to what happened that day?