On the evening of Tuesday, December 9, 2025, Dontavius Amir Marable, 17, was working at the McDonald’s on Elbert Street in Elberton, Georgia, when an acquaintance entered the lobby and a verbal dispute escalated into a physical altercation. Investigators say the disagreement concerned a girl both teenagers knew. Around 10:19 p.m., the other teen, identified as 15-year-old Justin Cleveland, allegedly produced a handgun and fired multiple shots. Marable was struck, collapsed in the restaurant, and was taken to Elbert Memorial Hospital, where he died of his wounds.

Cleveland left the scene but surrendered to the Elberton Police Department the next afternoon. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in and charged the 15-year-old as an adult with malice murder and felony murder; he was booked into the Wilkes Regional Youth Detention Center as the Northern Judicial Circuit prepared the case for prosecution.

Are there witnesses who were in the McDonald’s that night or anyone with information about the confrontation who can help clarify what happened?