After Tyler Schulte’s twin brother was found dead from a gunshot wound, Gwinnett County police charged him with felony murder. Police still don’t know if it was Schulte who fired the fatal shot, Det. Micah Hegwood said in a hearing Friday.
Tyler Schulte and Blake Schulte, 20-year-old fraternal twins from Buford, met up with 16-year-old Alexander Scott, of Doraville, and two of Scott’s friends shortly before 3 a.m. on Nov. 29. Scott had arranged to buy marijuana from Blake Schulte, Hegwood said.
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When Scott arrived to a neighborhood clubhouse on Express Drive in Buford, Blake Schulte told him to look at a bag of marijuana. Scott then heard someone shout “Give it up,” and he turned to run, he told Hegwood. Scott was then shot in the back of the head. The bullet exited through his face, but Scott survived.
Tyler Schulte told Hegwood that he only fired his gun after hearing a gunshot coming from the car, and he only pointed the gun at the car, Hegwood said.
At least 17 shots were fired before Tyler Schulte and Blake Schulte fled the scene on foot, Hegwood said. The brothers were picked up by a friend driving Tyler Schulte’s car. That car ended up in a ditch near Friendship Road and Duncan Ives Drive in Hall County. Blake Schulte, dead from a gunshot wound to the waist, was dead inside. Tyler Schulte fled to Ohio, where his parents live, Hegwood said.
Police still have not determined who fired the shot that killed Blake Schulte. Besides Tyler Schulte, there was at least one other shooter involved in the incident, Hegwood said.
Tyler Schulte is charged with felony murder because Blake Schulte’s death resulted due to the armed robbery that Tyler Schulte is accused of committing. Weeks after the shooting, police found money and a gun that belonged to Scott in the woods near a hat that was embroidered with the name “Schulte” and a jacket that belonged to one of the brothers, Hegwood said. Because Blake Schulte’s shooting occurred after the armed robbery was allegedly initiated by Tyler Schulte, Tyler Schulte can be charged with felony murder under Georgia’s party to a crime law.
Schulte’s attorney David Whitman disputed the charges, saying Blake Schulte could have been the aggressor and Tyler Schulte not involved until after hearing a gunshot. Judge Deborah Fluker found probable cause to bound over all charges: felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a controlled substance. Police found 50 ecstasy pills in Tyler Schulte’s car after finding Blake Schulte’s body, Hegwood said.
The issue of bond was not addressed at the Friday hearing; whether Tyler Schulte will be granted bond is up to the Gwinnett County Superior Court. He has been held at the Gwinnett County Detention Center without bond since Jan. 20.
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