In the early morning hours of June 24, 2023, 21-year-old Jaylon Thomas Smith was shot and killed in Valdosta, Georgia. Officers responding to numerous 911 calls arrived at about 3:09 a.m. on the 500 block of North St. Augustine Road and found Smith with a gunshot wound; Emergency Medical Services pronounced him dead at the scene. Jaylon, born November 5, 2001, was raised in Valdosta and known locally for his athletic participation in baseball and football and for having many close friends.

His death left his mother, father, and stepfather grieving. Detectives identified 19-year-old Jaquan Walton as a person of interest; on June 26, 2023, arrest warrants for felony murder and aggravated assault were issued and a public alert named him as armed and dangerous. Walton turned himself in on July 5, 2023. In February 2025 a Lowndes County grand jury returned a 44-count indictment that included racketeering charges alleging Walton and six others, linked to the 528 street gang, were connected to Smith’s murder and other violent offenses in the Valdosta area.

Does anyone have information about Jaylon’s last known movements or the shooting that could help clarify what happened?