After an emergency alert regarding a "violent suspect" caused a scare at the State Botanical Garden in Athens on Wednesday afternoon, Oconee County officials say the person they're looking for isn't believed to be in the area.
University of Georgia police sent out the alert about 3 p.m. saying the suspect was at the facility on South Milledge Avenue. Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry said that alert was related to the search for two suspects wanted in the murder of a 19-year-old.
Joseph Kenall Jackson died July 16 after he was attacked outside his home near the corner of Whipporwill Road and Cumberland Drive, Berry confirmed. Two brothers — Akhemu Dunston, 18, and Quentin Dunston, 19, both of Athens — were arrested Tuesday in connection with the incident. The sheriff’s office has been tracking down leads in hopes of finding two other suspects connected to the murder, Berry said.
One of those leads was a car that investigators believe is connected to one of the suspects, Berry said. That car was spotted by a UGA police officer about 2 p.m. traveling on South Milledge Avenue.
The officer turned around to stop the vehicle and then saw it parked at the gardens, UGA police said in a statement. No one was inside at that point.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Law enforcement officials were called out to search for the suspect, Berry said. Investigators eventually learned the car was being driven by a family member, he said.
In a second alert at 4:09 p.m., the university announced the “danger at the State Botanical Gardens” had ended.
Berry said no one tied to the slaying was ever in the car and emphasized there is no reason to believe either suspect is near the UGA campus. However, he said the emergency alert was the appropriate action by the UGA Police Department.
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The State Botanical Garden, which was established in 1968, is a unit of UGA’s Office of Public Service and Outreach and attracts more than 230,000 visitors a year.
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