On the night of January 20, 2023, Pinalkumar Patel, a 52-year-old man, was killed in a violent ambush in the driveway of his Macon, Georgia, home. Mr. Patel, who was of Middle Eastern or Arab descent, had just been picked up from his job at a liquor store on Shurling Drive by his wife, Rupalben Patel, and their daughter, Bhakti. As the family arrived at their residence on Thoroughbred Lane just after 11 p.m. and got out of their vehicle, three masked men armed with guns emerged from the shadows across the street and confronted them. Mr. Patel confronted the men, and they began yelling at each other.
The argument escalated into gunfire. The assailants shot Mr. Patel multiple times, his wife in the right leg, and his daughter in the left shin. The three attackers then ran to a dark-colored, four-door car where a fourth person was waiting, and the group fled the scene. Nothing was reported stolen from the family.
Emergency services transported all three victims to a local hospital, where Pinalkumar Patel was pronounced dead. His wife and daughter were listed in stable condition and survived their injuries.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation, utilizing footage from a neighbor’s doorbell camera that captured the three men emerging from hiding and then running away while firing several shots. Through their investigation, authorities identified four suspects involved in the attack.
Over the following year, four arrests were made. On January 31, 2023, investigators charged 40-year-old Terrell Ugean Mills with felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault. On March 10, 2023, the U.S. Marshal's Fugitive Task Force apprehended a second suspect, 37-year-old Shaun Mills, in Anniston, Alabama; he also faced charges of felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault. A third man, 30-year-old Keith Beddingfield Jr., was arrested on September 21, 2023, and charged with felony murder. The fourth suspect, 20-year-old Donnie White, was arrested on March 5, 2024, and was also charged with felony murder.
All four men were being held without bond. As of the last update in March 2024, the case remained under investigation. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 478-751-7500 or Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.
