Police have charged seven people in connection with the shooting death of a man whose body was discovered behind a Peachtree City apartment complex earlier this month.
It wasn’t immediately clear how 34-year-old Michael Tolbert was killed until police moved the man’s body and discovered a “defect” on his torso, authorities said previously.
An autopsy conducted by the GBI revealed that defect was a gunshot wound, and police said Tolbert was killed the day before his body was spotted in thick brush behind a parking lot on Joel Cowan Parkway.
RELATED: Man's death in Peachtree City ruled homicide after autopsy finds gunshot wound
Now, one man is charged with Tolbert’s murder and three of his alleged accomplices have been charged with being a party to the crime, authorities said.
Thomas J. Blandburg Jr., 26, faces one count each of murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, Peachtree City police said in a news release Thursday. Blandburg had previously been arrested on a reckless conduct charge after police said he discharged a firearm at the Woodsmill apartment complex, where authorities believe Tolbert was shot about 1 a.m. Aug. 2.
Police said Blandburg and his alleged accomplices drove from the Wynnmeade neighborhood to the nearby Woodsmill apartments, where Blandburg got out and fired several shots from a 9mm pistol.
“One of those shots hit Mr. Tolbert,” Lt. Matt Myers told AJC.com. “Mr. Tolbert was not instantly killed. He was able to run from the scene and later died.”
It’s unclear what prompted the shooting.
The other suspects were charged after investigators determined they were present for Tolbert’s shooting and then aided Blandburg.
Donnell Huggins, 20, and Joseph Redden, 24, both of Peachtree City, are charged with murder (party to the crime), aggravated assault (party to the crime), making false statements and concealment of facts, police said.
Keila Brooks, 43, is also charged with murder (party to the crime) and aggravated assault (party to the crime), according to the release.
Detectives said during their investigation, several other witnesses who were not directly involved in the shooting provided false information when they were questioned by police.
Barbara Johnson, 57, Cassandra Garcia, 28, and Wanda Barber, 58, were all arrested this week on charges of making false statements and concealing facts, police said.
“A lot of people gave us false information that stifled the investigation,” Myers said. “As a result, we have gone back and charged several of them with giving false statements. We don’t have any reason to believe that any of them are directly related to the death, but they did hinder our investigation and were charged accordingly.”
Blandburg, Huggins and Redden remain behind bars at the Fayette County Jail and warrants have been issued for Brooks’ arrest.
Blandburg also faces two counts of aggravated assault in connection with another shooting that occurred in the Wynnmeade neighborhood about three hours after Tolbert’s death.
Authorities said after killing Tolbert, Blandburg returned to his neighborhood and fired at two people inside a car, striking one of them. The condition of the occupant was not known. In that case, detectives believe Blandburg was involved in an ongoing dispute with the car’s driver.
— Please return to AJC.com for updates.
In other news:
About the Author
